You Can't Help Who You Fall In Love With
by shaiwriter
Summary: When Rick Grimes and Michonne Gill first lay eyes on each other, they both know they're in deep trouble. Despite the fact that they both have happy marriages and happy lives, they have set upon a course that will utterly destroy every thing they have in order to be together. Nothing else matters. This story is totally AU!
1. Chapter 1

I Don't Know You But…

Chapter 1

When Colonel Mark McDonough of the Georgia State Patrol offered Captain Rick Grimes the position of Deputy Commissioner in Atlanta Georgia, he could not pass it up. Rick loved his life in Cedartown, GA though. It was quiet, not too much crime, and he knew almost all of the civilians in his little town. But, this was an opportunity to become Major Rick Grimes, Deputy Commissioner in Atlanta fucking Georgia!

As he drove the 71 miles from Atlanta back to Cedartown, after his meeting with the Commissioner, he thought about how Lori and Carl were gonna take the news. Of course this would be a great boon for him career-wise, but it wasn't just him that would have to change his whole life. Carl would have to leave school and all of his friends. Friends that he'd known practically his whole life. It would be the same for Lori. The home they'd built together for themselves and their children was something that always created a great sense of pride within her. She loved their house and she loved their life. Asking her to move away from everything would be hard. Thinking of his family started giving him pause about what he was offered. Would it be fair to ask them to leave behind all that they knew and follow him to Atlanta?

When he finally pulled up to his home, he saw that Lori and Carl were doing yard work. Something he knew Carl absolutely hated, but he loved his mother and always wanted to make her happy. Yard work made her happy. His youngest was in her playpen soaking up the sun and playing with her toys.

All three of them looked up when he pulled into the driveway. When he got out of the car, he could see his little girl struggling to stand and reaching for him. He scooped her up, kissing her little feet and went to his wife.

"Hey babe," Lori said anxiously. She'd known what the meeting in Atlanta was about and now she was keen to hear the outcome.

"He asked me to be the Deputy Commissioner in Atlanta," he said quietly and waited for the uproar from his family.

"Oh my God baby! That's awesome!" Lori yelled as she threw a hug around Rick's neck.

"Congratulations Dad," Carl chimed in.

Rick was so surprised. He was worried sick the whole drive back how they were gonna take the news, but they seemed genuinely pleased for him. Lori noticed the look of pleased shock on her husband's face and smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm so proud of you Rick. You work so hard. You deserve this promotion baby. You have to know that," she said, still hugging him.

"I just thought you guys would be disappointed that we'd have to move if I took the job. Leave everything behind...our home."

" _You're_ our home Rick, and we'd follow you to the ends of this Earth. Right Carl?"

"Right," Carl answered immediately. "And I'm proud of you too Dad," Carl added.

Rick was overwhelmed. "I love you guys," was all he could say.

"And we love you," Lori said, kissing her husband.

* * *

Michael Gill owned the largest commercial construction company in the city of Atlanta and it's surrounding areas. His beautiful wife Michonne Gill was a working housewife who let her husbands dream of becoming a "Construction Mogul" stymie her own dreams of becoming a writer. It was okay though. Now that they had "made it" as Mike always put it, he told her it was time for her to quit her job and pursue the career _she'd_ always wanted to pursue.

Michonne was a wonderful writer and Mike always felt so guilty when she gave that up for him. Michonne always told him though, that she didn't give it up, she only put it on hold. And, she didn't put it on hold for _him_ , she did what she had to for _them_. She loved her husband dearly and it made her happy and proud to see what a success he had become. He, in turn, was just as happy to be able to tell his wife, whom he loved more than his own life, that it was now her turn.

"I don't care if you want to raise and sell turtles, baby. Whatever you want is what you're going to get," he said to his beaming wife.

She'd taken care of them, when Mike wasn't able to. When he was trying to get his business up and running, Michonne worked with him, helping Mike to build his dream. She worked multiple jobs to help them make ends meet. Mike was determined to never forget it.

"You're incredible, Chonne. So, anything you want to do, even if you decide you don't want to do anything, you do it."

"I want to write, Mike," Michonne said, knowing her husband wouldn't scoff or laugh at her dream, but still stiffening as she told him.

"How about we turn the attic into your workspace?" he asked her as he grabbed her hand and began to lead her to said attic.

"I thought you wanted to make it your 'game room?" Michonne said as she looked around the currently empty space.

"Well, I did, but I can watch my games in the den. I'll soundproof the walls so that you won't be disturbed when you're writing. I can fix it so that the central air goes up there so it doesn't get so hot. We can put carpet in, or hardwood if you want. We can get you a huge desk and some bookshelves, whatever you want."

"Wow, all that. That's a lot of work Mike."

"Baby, you wound me," Mike said clutching at his chest comically. "You're talking to the owner of the top construction company in Atlanta. I'm gonna hook you up!"

Michonne laughed as her husband picked her up and kissed her neck, swinging her around what would eventually become her writing space.

"I love you baby. I'll do anything for you. You know that," he said getting serious.

"I know Mike. Thank you so much."

"No need to thank me. You deserve this. You took care of me when I needed you to. Let me take care of you now."

"Okay baby," Michonne said to her husband.

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised by Mike's declarations. He loved her and treated her like she was his queen. Of course he would be on board with her decision to write. It was what she wanted, and Mike wanted what _she_ wanted.

* * *

 **6 Months Later**

Rick loved his new job as Deputy Commissioner, but he felt weird being in an office in Police Headquarters downtown instead of being in an actual precinct surrounded by other cops. Sure, most of the people at the headquarters were 'real cops', but they were all suits. Shit, _he_ was a suit now. Other than that, he loved his new job. Even better, his family seemed so happy in their new home in Duluth. Carl seemed to be enjoying his new school and even brought a few kids from their neighborhood over to play video games. Video games seem to be the great equalizer when it comes to kids. Rick couldn't complain. His kid was happy and that was his main concern.

Rick stopped at a bar with some of his co-workers and enjoyed the company of the new people he now worked with. Just like video games were the great equalizers with kids, a good stiff drink (or a few) seemed to be that for adults. After a lot of 'welcomes', and 'we're glad to have you', plus a couple of vigorous games of 'darts for drinks', it was 8:00 p.m. and he had to get home.

"Thanks for the welcome guys. I really appreciate it," Rick said to his fellow officers as he put his jacket on, preparing to leave.

"No problem Deputy. We try to do this every Friday and would love for you to keep joining us," said Washington Wilkes, who was a Captain with the Georgia State Patrol.

"Thanks Wash. But please, just Rick."

"Alright Rick. Now, get on home before the wife comes looking for you," Wash teased light-heartedly.

"Um, Wash, I know _you're_ not talking," said a Lieutenant by the name of Christopher Meems. "You were supposed to be home an hour ago. Oh shit! Here comes Maxine!" Christopher said looking at the door in fear.

He wasn't the only one. Wash's head whipped in the direction of the door, his eyes as big as billiard balls. "Where!"

Everyone burst into laughter when they realized that Wash's wife Maxine wasn't actually there.

"Shit, I'm getting the hell out of here," Wash declared, putting his jacket on. "I'll walk you out Rick," he said slapping Rick on the back.

"That's fine, but if Maxine does come, my vow to protect and serve is getting thrown out the window. You're on your own man," Rick said laughing.

Rick and Wash went to their cars, gave each other a final good-bye and both went their separate ways. Rick's ride was 30 minutes away from Atlanta, but he loved the drive. It was peaceful and allowed him to think about his day and marvel at the direction his life was taking. This night, his quiet contemplation was disrupted when a silver BMW Roadsters roared past him going at least 80 or 90 miles an hour.

"Goddammit!" Rick yelled.

Even though he didn't give tickets anymore, his company car still had lights and a siren, and the threw them both on and gave chase.

As soon as he caught up with the driver, which didn't take long seeing as all cop cars were equipped with souped up engines, the little Roadster pulled over to the side of the road. The windows were tinted, so Rick couldn't really see inside the car, but he could detect movement on the driver side. He took off his jacket, placed his Colt Python in its holster, and opened his door. He was cautious as he approached the car and saw the window come down. When he reached the side of the car and looked down, his breath was stolen.

In the car was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life. At first he just stared at her with his head tilted to the side. He knew he probably looked like an idiot, but he couldn't get his mouth to work.

"I'm sorry officer. I know I was speeding, but I'm so fucking late," Michonne Gill said to the officer as she rummaged in her purse (not even considering that she may have been taking her life in her hands) trying to find her driver's license. When the officer didn't say anything in response to her apology, she looked up at him.

He was gorgeous.

His eyes held her captive. She suddenly was glad she was sitting, because if she hadn't been, she would definitely need to.

"Um, what...what's your name ma'am?" Rick finally managed to choke out.

His country twang ran through her from her head to her toes. She'd lived in the south now for more than 15 years and she never appreciated that southern cadence, but this one was something special. She couldn't help but smile at him. She just hoped he didn't think she was some kind of idiot.

When she blessed him with that smile, Rick nearly lost his shit. He smiled back at the woman that had intrigued him so severely on the road to...shit, he'd forgot where the fuck he was going.

"Oh god, I'm sorry. My name is Michonne. Michonne Gill," she said as she stared into his blue eyes. Eyes that were as clear and blue as window cleaner. She realized it was a stupid comparison, but she'd never seen eyes like his before. She was fucking mesmerized.

"Michonne," Rick said with a sigh. "Um, Ms. Gill, why are you in such a hurry? You know, you could hurt yourself or someone else, speeding like that," he said, scolding her.

"I know. I'm sorry. Please don't give me a ticket. My husband is going to be so pissed at me," she said, knowing it wasn't true. Mike wouldn't care that she got a ticket, and right at this moment, she didn't give a shit if Mike would be angry with her or not.

Then, the two of them just...looked at each other. Something was happening, and neither one of them wanted to be the one that brought their encounter to a halt. Rick however, couldn't take it anymore.

"Step out of the car ma'am." Rick said trying to sound authoritative, and succeeding to a point.

Michonne huffed and went to open the door. She tried to be mad, but she found that she actually wanted to get out. She wanted a better look at this man.

Rick slowly reached for the handle on her car door, all the time his brain was yelling at him to " _STOP, Give her a warning and get your ass back in your car and go...",_ shit, he still couldn't remember where in the fuck he was going. But it was too late. His hand reached the handle and opened the car door.

Michonne turned in her seat revealing to Rick what he thought God had in mind when he made legs. They were long, shapely, and muscular, peaking out of the bottom of a sleek form fitting red dress that stopped above her knees, and he desperately wanted to touch them. He settled instead, for holding out his hand to help her get out of the car.

" _What the fuck are you doing girl?"_ Michonne asked herself when she took his offered hand. She had no idea why he'd asked her to get out of the car or why she so desperately _wanted_ to get out. No, that was a lie. She knew _exactly_ why she wanted out of the car and when she touched his hand, what she wanted was only confirmed. She felt an inexplicable need to be close to this man. As close as she could get. She wasn't stupid either. She could see by the way he was looking at her, that he wanted the same thing.

When she stood up, they didn't drop hands. He began to move closer to her. She felt crowded, but didn't mind one bit.

"You know my name. Can I have yours?" Michonne asked this strange man that had a death grip on her hand.

"You can have whatever you want," he answered seriously.

She giggled at him and placed her hand on his chest. His very _close_ chest.

"Well, right now, I just want your name."

"My name is Rick. Rick Grimes," he said, realizing how ridiculous this whole situation was, but also realizing as he moved closer to her, he had zero control of what was happening.

He was so close now, that Michonne could feel his breath on her face when he told her his name. Still holding her hand, Rick rested his other hand on her hip and it felt like that was where it always belonged.

"It's nice to meet you, Rick Grimes," Michonne said in a low throaty rasp that even to her own ears sounded sexy as hell. At the sound of his name on her lips, and the sultry undertone in her smooth voice, Rick couldn't help exhaling sharply. It hit him like a brick to the chest. For her part, Michonne found it harder and harder to look him in his eyes. She could feel herself getting lost in them, drowning in those blue pools. She looked down at their shoes.

"Michonne, I love the way you say my name. I think...I think I'm in trouble," Rick whispered to her forehead since she wouldn't look at him anymore. Her hair smelled like coconuts and the sun. He inhaled deeply trying to imprint her scent on his brain.

When he said exactly what Michonne was thinking, she finally looked up, suddenly _wanting_ to be lost in those beautiful eyes.

"Me too," she whispered. She was falling for a stranger on a strange road in the middle of Atlanta Georgia. Michonne had no idea _how_ in the fuck this was happening to her, or _why_. She loved her husband. Mike was her life...but, being in the arms of this stranger rendered her, dare she admit it, thoughtless? Michonne wasn't a stupid woman, prone to impulsive behavior. But for the life of her, she couldn't even remember what the hell Mike looked like at that moment. The worst thing was that she didn't even care.

Something was materializing between her and this man. She had to put a stop to it...didn't she?

"Rick, I'm married," she said in a very small voice that almost sounded foreign to her own ears. Not like herself at all. What the fuck was _happening_? She didn't want to say those words to him. She didn't want him to know that she wasn't available to him. She didn't want him to let her go. " _What the fuck is WRONG with me!"_

Rick leaned on her and rested his head on her shoulder, lifted the hand that was currently entwined in hers and turned it so she could see his wedding ring. He wasn't ever trying to hide it or anything like that. It was just that when he first laid eyes on Michonne, he totally forgot about his wedding ring and the person it symbolized his love for.

"Yeah, we're in trouble," Michonne said turning her face into Rick's hair.

When he felt her lips graze his hair softly as she spoke, a tingle started from the top of his head and settled itself right on the tip of his dick. He turned his face toward hers and was instantly lost. He couldn't ever remember seeing a woman as comely as she was, or remember being so attracted so quickly. His eyes zeroed in on her red pillowy lips. Rick usually didn't care for lipstick, but this shade, he wanted all over him. The hand that was resting on Michonne's hip moved slowly up her body, making her shiver in its wake, and rested gently on the side of her neck.

" I need to kiss you, Michonne," he whispered to her, silently praying that she would be agreeable to the idea. This woman had him, Rick thought to himself as he waited for permission to do what he felt like if he didn't get to do, he would die right there on the fucking street.

She nodded her head, and he smiled at her happily.

Michonne's heart was beating so hard and that smile he'd just blessed her with almost made her lose feeling in her legs. She was nervous, and not because of what would happen if Mike ever found out. In fact, poor Mike was the furthest thing from her mind. Rick Grimes had effectively taken over her mind, and God help her, it seemed he'd taken over her heart as well. So yes, she was nervous, but she welcomed it.

He pressed his lips to the side of her mouth first. Then to her chin. He used the hand on her neck to turn her head to the side so that he could kiss the other side of her mouth. Michonne's closed her eyes as he worshiped her with his mouth, anxiously waiting for him to get to her lips. She didn't want to rush him even though they were still on the side of the road. Rick tipped Michonne's head back and gently bit her chin, slowly making his way to her neck. His bites and kisses were like feather touches to what was suddenly her very hot skin. Michonne writhed under those kisses, moving her body against his, making him hiss at this new contact. She reluctantly released his hand (they still hadn't dropped each other's hand yet) and brought her arms around his waist, squeezing him closer to her.

Rick couldn't wait any longer to kiss her mouth, and when his lips finally touched hers, he wondered what the hell he'd been waiting for in the first place. Michonne immediately opened her mouth allowing his probing tongue to taste her. He moaned into her mouth and pushed his hardness into her lower belly. She welcomed his tongue with her own, tasting him as intensely as he was tasting her.

As if their moves were scripted, she put her arms up around his neck at the same moment his arms went around her waist, his hands gripping her ass, both pulling the other closer. Michonne grabbed the hair at his collar and let her hands get lost in the curls there. _Loose curly hair._ Not tight curls that were cut low on the back and sides of his head. Not like Mike's. Mike. Fuck. Michonne's eyes popped open.

" _What the fuck am I doing!"_ she screamed inside her head. She turned her head away from this stranger that she was allowing to practically dry hump her in the street. He tried to follow her with his mouth, desperate to kiss her more, but she had to put a stop to this fuckery, before they went past the point of no return.

"We have to stop this. This is crazy Rick. We don't even know each other," she whispered. She still had her hands in his hair.

"Please don't make me stop," he moaned, looking into her brown eyes with desperation. He squeezed her tight, not even trying to push his now, rock hard cock into her belly anymore. He just wanted to be as close to her as he could get. He lay his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes because she was now running her hands through his hair and it felt so good that he wanted to purr.

"I don't want to stop," Michonne said quietly.

Rick raised his head with a question in his eyes, which Michonne answered, already hating what was about to come out of her mouth.

"I need to go to my husband, and you need to go to your wife," she said, though she thought she would die if she had to say the words 'your wife' to him ever again.

"I don't want to leave you Michonne. I have a sinking feeling that if I do, I'll never see you again," Rick said hugging her tighter.

"It might be best if we never see each other again, because if we do, there's gonna be heartache," she said laying her head on his chest.

"I don't care."

Michonne looked up at Rick thinking maybe she didn't quite hear him right, but hoping to God she did.

"I don't care Michonne," he repeated. He already found that he loved saying her name. "I want you and I know you want me. I could tell when you kissed me," he said softly, dropping a small kiss on her lips.

Michonne looked at this man that had enraptured her so fully, so completely, so quickly and realized...she didn't care either.

Something in her face must have changed because Rick could tell the moment she decided to throw caution to wind. He smiled and kissed her again.

"Give me your keys," he growled softly at her. Michonne thought she'd come right then and there.

"They're still in the ignition," Michonne said, shakingly pointing to her abandoned car.

Rick reluctantly released the grip he had on her waist and went to her car. He shoved her purse under the seat, pulled the keys from the ignition, closed the door and hit the key fob to lock it up. He placed the keys in his pocket as he walked over to Michonne and held his hand out to her. She took it.

"Come with me," he said as he walked toward his car with Michonne in tow. Willingly in tow.

Michonne's heart was beating so fast and hard she wouldn't have been surprised if Rick could actually hear it. She tightened her grip on his hand. He looked at her and kissed her.

"We'll be okay," he said as he opened the backdoor of his car.

Michonne was relieved that at least the windows were tinted and that it was getting darker outside now that the sun decided to finally split the scene. Only two or three cars had passed them as they were in their embrace, but, if Michonne was honest with herself, she really didn't care if a whole fucking parade decided to come down the street right at that moment.

"I don't care either," she declared as she slid into the backseat.

"Thank God," Rick said smiling as he slid in next to her.

When they were both in the backseat, Rick suddenly felt like a piece of shit. He wanted to give Michonne more than just a quick fuck in the back of a police car. He was about to turn to her and confess as much when Michonne totally changed his mind.

She noticed the look on his face and the way Rick was scanning the inside of the car with distaste. Not wanting whatever idea that had crept into his head to take up residence there and totally fuck up their vibe, Michonne straddled his lap as soon as he looked over at her.

"You're not gonna give up on me now are you?" she asked, both scared that he would and excited because she knew he probably wouldn't.

Rick welcomed her weight on his lap as well as her heat. As he looked into her brown eyes, the thought of not being with her at that very minute no matter where they were, floated away like ripples on a lake.

"No ma'am...," he told her as he rested his hands on her ass again.

Michonne smiled at him as she lowered her face to his, wanting another of those wondrously pleasing kisses. She started rubbing her pussy against his cock as if she had no control of her hips. She'd thought she'd gotten a good idea of what he was working with when they were standing up outside, but she realized that she had absolutely no fucking clue. He was huge. Big enough to make her 'nervous as fuck' _and_ 'wet as fuck' at the same time.

Rick slipped his fingers into the front to her little lace panties and almost came in his pants when he felt how wet she was. Wet for him. Her legs were opened around his waist due to her position on top of him, causing the lips of her pussy to spread slightly, exposing that sensitive button that she so fiercely needed him to push. Instead, he slid his middle finger into her warm slick core **and** swiped at her button with his thumb.

"Oh God, Rick."

"Is it good?" he asked her, desperate to please her (but not understanding why).

"Yes, yes, yes," she sobbed as she rode his fingers.

"You want more? Tell me what you want Michonne and I'll give it to you. Anything you want."

"You," she moaned into his neck as her hands deftly unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants. "I want you Rick. Anyway I can have you," she said as she almost tore his zipper from his pants meaning every fucking word.

Rick lifted his lower body so that he could pull his pants down. Michonne was trying to get up so that she could remove her panties, but he couldn't wait that long. He hooked his finger in the leg hole and tore them to shreds, revealing what he needed so badly.

Michonne laughed at his eagerness. "Hey, you owe me a new pair of panties mister," she said smiling at him.

"Anything you want," he said to her again.

Michonne placed her hands on his shoulders and positioned herself directly over the head of his cock. They looked in each other's eyes knowing what they were about to do was not going to be a one time thing. That they were about to change the course of their lives, be it for better or worse. Rick grabbed her ass and guided himself into her body. Michonne raised her head with her eyes closed, feeling every inch of him as he invaded her most precious space. It was his space now though, she knew and when she looked down at him, she could tell that he knew this as well. She was his.

"I know," he said. Michonne had spoken of her new status aloud without realizing it. "And I'm yours," he said.

As urgent as the need to _fuck_ had taken over them just minutes ago, that need dissipated just as quickly and was replaced with the need to 'make love'. Sure it was in the back of a car, but it didn't matter to either of them. Rick wanted to be gentle with her and Michonne wanted to be handled as such.

As he thrusted tenderly into her, and she rode him softly, they couldn't stop staring into each other's eyes. They were falling in love. Neither of them let a single thought of the god-awful consequences which would cause their families, their friends, or anyone else pain, stop them from falling.

Right now, the only one Rick could see, the only one he could feel, was Michonne. She was slowly becoming his everything and he didn't regret it one bit.

"Harder Rick," Michonne begged him softly. He gave her what she wanted, just as he said he would. Anything.

Michonne wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his hair. He felt so good. She squeezed her pussy around his girth and rode him harder, wanting him to feel as good as she did. His whispered declaration of, " _Jesus"_ , told him she was doing a pretty good job.

Rick placed both hands on her back and started to lean forward, which made her lean back. She knew what he wanted. She wanted it to. Rick effectively changed their position so that Michonne was laying on the backseat, with her long smooth legs wrapped around his waist. He was comfortably enclosed within those legs and wondered how he'd ever lived without knowing this feeling of 'pleasurable security'. That was the only way he could describe it. Rick pulled Michonne's dress up and over her head, laying on the headrest of the front seat. Michonne's hands immediately went to the front clasp of her bra (silently giving thanks that she'd worn this one today) and opened it, eagerly revealing herself to him.

His mouth watered when he saw what she was offering him.

"God, you're perfect," he said as he palmed her breasts, gently squeezing her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. He leaned down and placed one of her small brown nipples in his mouth and sucked at her gently, at first. When she started moaning, drawing his cock in and out of her pussy as she impaled herself on him as she looked up at him, working her hips up and down despite being on her back, he had no choice but to drive into her with all that he had.

"Ugh, fuck me Rick, fuck me," she whispered in his ear, making him fuck her harder.

"Anything... you... want... baby," he grunted in time with each plunge his cock took into her slippery pussy.

Despite the myriad of feelings coursing through him as he found himself right on the edge of crashing, he held back and concentrated on a feeling that for some reason, felt foreign to him. He couldn't understand why it felt this way as he thought he'd felt this way many times before, but, obviously he was dead wrong. He'd never felt **happiness** in this form before. He hated to think that he'd never been happy before in his life. But, the way he felt right at this moment, while he was with the woman that he knew he would be with for the rest of his life, even though he knew that being with her was going to fucking trash every other thing in his life, he'd never ever been happier. He didn't understand. He felt he didn't need to understand though. It was just the way it was. He looked down at her, Michonne, the woman that would effectively consume his whole life, and smiled. She smiled back. Her legs tightened around his waist, just as her pussy tightened around his cock and she moaned, grabbing at his ass, pulling him into her even more. He took advantage of this and ground himself into her clit while he sucked on her neck.

"Can you come for me baby?" he whispered in her ear. "My god, you feel so good. I can feel you trembling around my cock. It's okay, you can let go. Fall baby, I'll catch you," he said quietly in her ear.

And that's exactly what she did, screaming his name the whole time as she came so hard, she squirted her juice all over his balls and thighs, and felt it trickling down between her ass cheeks.

"Oh Fuck! Oh Fuck," Rick said, his voice going up and octave, sounding as if he were singing his obscenities as he pistoned his cock in and out of her. "I'm gonna come!" he said as he slammed his hips into hers, trying to feel every crevice and nook of her pussy before he had to pull out of her tight warmth.

Michonne unhooked her legs from around his waist and spread her legs as wide as she could, allowing Rick to fuck her as hard and fast as he needed to.

"Michonne!" he yelled as he felt his cum burst through the tip of his cock, pulling out of her wet heat just in the nick of time. Michonne raised up, grabbed his spurting cock and quickly guided it into her mouth.

"Oh shit!" Rick grunted as he watched Michonne suck the head of his cock into her mouth. He tried not to move as she sucked the cum from him, which didn't seem to have an end to its flow, but it was impossible. He slowly fucked her mouth, shuddering as he released what he had for her, wishing he could have come inside her pussy, but he didn't want to take _that_ risk. Not yet. Not without her permission.

He'd gripped her by her locs at the back of her head, but made sure not to pull too hard. He just guided her mouth back and forth on his cock while she sucked him. This was the best his cock had ever felt, second to being inside her cunt.

Finally, his cum stopped and he pulled gently out of her mouth. She looked up at him and smirked.

"Was that okay?"

He didn't answer, just swept her up in his arms (as much as he could in the backseat of a car) and devoured her mouth with his own. He could taste his own cum, which was weird, but he didn't let it bother him. He kissed her as if it would be the last time. When he finished, Michonne pulled back and held his cheeks in her hands.

"I'll take that as a yes then?" she asked jokingly. He could only nod, not yet able to express himself verbally yet. She'd sucked that ability right out of him. He rested his head on her chest and realized if he died right then and there, he'd have no regrets. When she started running her fingers through his hair again, he was absolutely sure that she was who he wanted. Michonne was the person that he would spend the rest of his life with, of that he had no doubt. He realized though that, he'd been having all of these thoughts, but he had no idea how she felt.

"Michonne?" he croaked.

"Rick?" she said back, smiling at him.

"I can't be without you."

Michonne stopped smiling, She knew this wasn't a 'one hit and then quit' type of situation. She knew that. But, she was fucked if she knew exactly what she and Rick were going to do now.

"I know Rick," she said sadly. "But what are we going to do? Should we just go home and tell them? Should we hide this, sneaking around like a couple of rats? I just don't know. I don't want to hurt anyone, but that's inevitable, isn't it?" she asked, even though she knew full well what the answer was already.

Rick opened his mouth to respond to her, but he was interrupted by his ringing phone. This made Michonne think of her own phone which was still in her purse, in her car, probably ringing at that very moment.

Not letting Michonne go, Rick reached down in his pants pocket and retrieved the little cell phone and looked at the name plastered across the screen. Lori, it said, though it didn't surprise him. He knew it was her the moment it started ringing. He swiped at the phone to Michonne's utter surprise and brought the vile little thing to his ear to answer it.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey, where are you?" Lori asked.

Michonne closed her eyes. She was close enough to be able to hear Rick's wife and she discovered that she **hated** her. She hated that this woman had access to Rick and was the one he called 'wife'. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she didn't care. She lay her head in the crook between Rick's neck and shoulder and tried to block out that woman's voice and get rid of the awkward pettiness that she could feel developing within her.

Rick, sensing Michonne was upset, rubbed her back up and down and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be home soon. I stopped at a bar and had a few drinks with some of the guys from the office," he said.

Rick tipped Michonne's head back, and looking directly in her eyes said, "I'm sorry."

Lori, thinking that he was talking to her, responded. "That's okay sweetie. Just give me a call next time. I was a little worried about you," she said.

Rick didn't respond to Lori, as he was looking at Michonne, trying to gauge her reaction. He breathed a sigh of relief when she rubbed his face and reached up to kiss him on the corner of his lips.

" _It's okay,"_ she mouthed to him. Rats it was then.

"Are you sure?" he asked Michonne out loud, completely forgetting he had his wife of 17 years on the phone still.

"Of course," Lori answered at the same time Michonne was nodding her head, telling Rick that " _yes, she was sure"_.

"So, do you have any idea when you might be home," Lori asked. When her husband didn't answer her, she called out to him. "Rick? Sweetie, can you hear me?" Still nothing. She looked at her phone and realized that Rick was gone. Unfortunately, she had no idea exactly how much that empty line would come to resemble her own life.

Her Rick was gone.

Michonne looked at the phone after Rick disconnected from his wife and saw that it was almost 9:30.

"Shit. I have to go," she said sadly. And, as much as he wanted to protest, he knew that he had to leave as well.

"What will you tell him?" Rick asked as he stroked her hair.

"I have no idea," she said as she dislodged herself from Rick's lap.

"You said he was gonna be pissed at you for getting a ticket," Rick said, letting the rest of what he wanted to say just hang in the air.

"It'll be okay. I only said that trying to get you to not give me a ticket," she giggled at him. She stopped when she saw that he wasn't really convinced. "I swear Rick. I'll be fine, okay?" she said gently.

Rick nodded his head and reached for her. She came to him readily, knowing she really needed to be going.

"I don't want you to go, Michonne."

"I don't want to go, but we have to. If only to clear our heads, because when we're like this, I don't know about you, but I can't think straight."

"Me neither," Rick said as he nuzzled her neck. "Shit!"

"What's the matter?"

"Your neck," he said looking at a dark spot. A dark spot he'd created.

"Oh no you didn't," she said alarmed and amused at the same time.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I don't even remember when I did it," he said as he looked at the dark purple bruise he'd sucked to the surface of her otherwise flawless neck. It made his cock rise to think that he'd actually marked her. She was **his** goddammit and he wanted motherfucking Mike to know that shit! He then realized that he'd done that shit on purpose without even realizing it. "Fuck, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. He won't even notice. But you have to be careful next time," she said smiling at him. He looked so guilty and she wanted to make him feel better.

"Next time?" he asked. He suddenly felt like a kid at Christmas with a million presents to open.

"Yeah. Don't you want a next time?" Michonne asked quietly.

"God yes," he whispered to her, kissing her on the neck where he'd marked her with that fucking hickey.

"Okay," she said happily as she got out of his lap...again. She pulled off her ruined panties and reached around her back so that she could catch the ends of her bra and clasp it back together, covering her breasts. When they were covered, Rick poked out his full bottom lip in a pout.

"Aww," he said sadly.

She laughed at him. "Don't start Mr. Grimes. Help me with my dress, please?"

"Okay," he said sounding like someone that was just told he had to mow one hundred lawns. But he helped her just the same.

When she was fully dressed, (sans panties), Rick pulled his pants up and fastened them.

"Aww," Michonne said mocking him as his dick was hidden from her sight. His eyes sparkled at her as he reached for her again, kissing her on the mouth.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," he said as he rested his forehead on hers.

"Give me your phone," Michonne said.

He gave it to her and watched as she created a new contact and saved her cell phone number into his data.

"I figure just the name Gill is okay, right? It could be the first name of a man. Is this okay?"

"Michonne, you could have put your full name in my phone and it would have been okay with me," he said seriously.

"She doesn't bother your phone?"

"She has it all the time, but I told you, I don't care. You just let me know when you're ready for the world to know and I'll be right there with you, every step of the way."

Michonne nodded her head.

"Soon," she said.

"Whatever you want," he whispered and kissed her one more time.

They got out of the car and Rick walked Michonne back to her car, unlocking her door for her since he still had her keys in his pocket. He opened the door for her and the first thing they heard was her phone ringing. Michonne reached under the seat, got her purse and pulled out her phone. She stood against her car and Rick pressed into her, hugging her around her waist, just like the way they started. She answered her phone.

"Hey," she said.

"Shit. Thank God. I was about to call the police. Are you okay?" Mike asked.

Rick could hear him and was satisfied when he didn't hear any anger in Michonne's husbands voice. He hugged her tighter and kissed her on the side of her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I got stopped for speeding," she said as she looked up at Rick. "I didn't get a ticket, but there was something about the cop that stopped me. When he left me, I pulled out my tablet and started writing. I've been sitting here for over an hour writing about him."

Mike laughed. "I thought it was something like that. Why didn't he give you a ticket?"

"I used my charms on him," Michonne said jokingly, but serious as hell.

" _Yeah you did,"_ Rick mouthed to her. He kissed her lips again, not able to help himself and was pleased when Michonne returned his kiss.

"Hey babe, you there?" Mike asked, when the talking seemed to come to a halt.

Rick bristled at Mike calling Michonne 'babe', but he knew he was being ridiculous.

"Yeah, I'm here. Look, I'll be home in a few minutes. I'm sorry I missed dinner," she said with her eyes closed. Rick was kissing her neck, making his way up to her ear that didn't have her phone attached to it.

When he got to her ear, he whispered to her. "You're mine ' _babe'_ ".

Mike was speaking to her. She thought he was telling her that it was okay she missed the dinner because it was boring anyway, but she wasn't paying attention anymore.

"I know," she whispered to Rick and rubbed her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and moaned.

"Chonne? You okay?" Mike heard that moan.

"Um, yeah, I'm - I'm fine. Just tired. I'll see you at home okay?"

"Okay. I may be a little late."

"That's fine. I'm sure I'll be asleep when you get there," Michonne said to Mike while she looked at Rick.

"Okay babe. I love you," Mike said.

"I love you," Michonne said, still looking at Rick. She disconnected the call before Mike could say anything else.

Michonne looked down at her shoes, not knowing what to do with the fact that she'd just said the words 'I love you' and she wasn't even talking to her own husband.

Rick lifted her head up gently by her chin. "I love you too. I don't understand how but, I know it's the truth Michonne."

"We're in trouble."


	2. Chapter 2

You Can't Always Get What You Want...Unless You're Very Sneaky

Chapter 2

Michonne drove home with her head in the proverbial clouds. She couldn't even remember driving home, truth be told. Her mind was consumed with one Officer Rick Grimes. On the one hand, she couldn't believe she'd fucked a stranger on the side of the road. On the other hand, she didn't consider Rick a stranger. Not anymore. He'd taken up permanent residence in her head. In her heart as well, which blew her mind. She'd always scoffed at that 'love at first sight' shit. She'd always thought that there was no way any reasonable, halfway sane person could claim they 'loved' someone after they'd only seen or met them just one time. As she drove home in her daze - having horns blown at her when she didn't go fast enough as a light turned green; almost clipping a guy riding a bike - she realized just how fucking wrong she'd always been. And honestly, she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It certainly felt good. She knew however, that when what she felt came to light, a lot of other people were going to be hurt. A lot of people were going to be angry. As she continued her drive home, she discovered something She couldn't be bothered to care.

Blessedly, the house was empty when she got home. She was alone.. She had a huge smile on her face that she just couldn't seem to get rid of and she wasn't in the mood to come up with a lie for Mike, explaining what it was doing there. Michonne immediately went to the guest bathroom, down the hall from her and Mike's bedroom, and began removing her clothes. She currently smelled like her cop, and though she was loathe to wash his smell off of her skin, she knew she couldn't get into the bed she shared with Mike smelling that way. Besides, she was also as sticky as a caramel apple.

She licked her lips as she bent over to remove her shoes, still tasting him, and smiled again. When she stood up, she was directly in from of the huge bathroom mirror. She looked at her smiling face and slowly, the smile disappeared. Gripping the bathroom sink, she looked down at her naked body and guilt washed over her. It was so heavy all of a sudden that she needed the bathroom sink in order to even stay upright.

"What did I do?" she asked herself quietly. Or, it would have been quiet if not for the echo of the bathroom. She cringed. "Oh my God," Michonne said shuddering, and let out a quiet sob that echoed in the suddenly cavernous space.

She closed her eyes and saw Rick. His eyes, his lips, his delicate yet surprisingly strong hands. She saw all of this and felt herself getting borderline hysterical. She was in love with someone she didn't know. Someone that probably just wanted a quick fuck before he went home to his wife. Being alone brought all of these awful thoughts to her mind and she couldn't seem to turn the tide of anguish and disappointment that was weighing on her.

"How could I have been so stupid!" she yelled at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She caught sight of the hickey on her neck and began to rub at it. She knew rubbing it wasn't going to make it go away, but she didn't know what else to do. She rubbed harder and harder, hurting herself, but the thought crossed her mind, " _You deserve to be hurt after what you've done."_ Just as she was on the verge of rubbing her neck raw, just when she curved her fingers to engage her fingernails with her skin, she heard a small tinkling sound coming from her purse. She stopped, and listened, thinking maybe she might be hearing things. There it was again.

Michonne bolted out of the bathroom and skidded to a halt on barefeet in the hallway where she dropped her purse. She tore her purse open and was on the verge of turning it upside down when she couldn't find her fucking phone. But, her finger lit on the hard flat object and she snatched at it as if her life depended on it.

It was him. She knew it, and when she answered, "Rick!?" without looking at the display screen, she wasn't disappointed.

"Michonne," he sighed, sounding oddly relieved. "Thank God," he murmured into his own phone.

* * *

As Rick drove home, he kept playing back in his mind his time with Michonne Gill. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. New job, new life...new woman in his life. He felt a little guilty about taking her in the backseat of his car. She deserved better than that and he was determined that the next time would be better. He'd find a place. A place just for her and him, to be together. Then it came to him, like a flash. He knew of a place in Decatur called The Cottage. It was perfect. It was close to Atlanta, but far enough away so that it would seem they were the only two people on Earth, if they were so inclined. He found himself smiling from ear to ear. Good God, he was happy!

He zoned out as he rode home thinking about Michonne. How she felt in his arms, how she tasted on his lips, how she _smelled._ Before he knew it, he was pulling into his driveway. All the lights were out in his house and he breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to have to talk to, or at this point, even _see_ Lori. He felt like shit about it, but, just like Michonne, he couldn't be bothered to care.

He pushed Lori out of his mind, which he found was extremely easy to do to his utter delight, and focused on Michonne while he had a chance. He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Michonne's face. He saw her lips, and remembered kissing them. He touched his own lips without realizing he was even doing it, trying to remember exactly how it felt when her mouth touched his. The column of her elegant neck, which he held in his hand as she rode him. His eyes popped open. He'd sucked on her neck, potentially causing her trouble at home. He had to be more careful. Then he remembered her husband saying that he was gonna be late going home tonight and he felt an insatiable need to hear her voice, to make sure she was okay.

When he searched through his contacts looking for her entry, he had a sudden unreasonable fear that she put the wrong number in his phone. Like, maybe she just did it to placate him until she could get away from him. His heart started to beat faster in his chest as he hit the little phone icon that would dial the number she gave him. The phone rang once. It rang twice. It rang a third time and he started to get scared.

"Oh God, please," he whispered. He thought he was gonna get another ring and told himself that he'd let it ring a million times until she answered. He didn't have to wait a million rings though. He didn't even have to wait a full fourth ring as she answered with his name on her lips.

"Rick!?"

"Michonne," he sighed. He was so afraid he wouldn't get to talk to her. "Thank God," he whispered. Then, he realized that she sounded a little distressed and immediately went on alert. "Are you okay?" he asked sharply, already questioning how fast it would take him to get to her if she needed him.

"Yes," she said, sounding just as relieved as he felt. "My thoughts were running away from me. I just had a strange feeling that I'd never hear from you again," she whispered to him.

"You don't ever have to worry about that, okay," he said to her gently. "I honestly have no idea how I'm gonna survive until I can see you again."

She giggled lightly and he smiled into the phone, closing his eyes, picturing her smiling face. "Are you laughing at me Ms. Michonne?" he asked with a low growl, happy once again.

"No. I was just thinking the exact same thing. What are we going to do? I need you Rick," she said.

"I have an idea, but it's gonna be a surprise. In the meantime, can I see you tomorrow?" he asked, praying she'd say yes.

His prayers were answered, sort of.

"Of course you can, but not here. My neighbors are nosy as hell and would definitely have plenty to say if they saw you coming or going."

"Okay, yeah. I guess that would be a little reckless. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll call you right back, okay?"

"Okay Rick. I'll be waiting," Michonne said, hoping he'd come up with something that would make it possible for them to see each other.

When they disconnected, Michonne took her purse and phone back into the bathroom and waited for Rick to call her back. She was breathing easy again, realizing that she was being silly earlier. He'd told her that he loved her, and she believed him, no matter how little time had passed since they'd known each other. She was smiling to herself in the bathroom when she heard the front door open and close. Mike was home. She looked at her phone and turned the ringer off. She kept it in her hand so when Rick called, she'd be able to feel the vibration.

"Babe, you home!" Mike called out.

Michonne considered not answering him at first, but realized she was being silly again. She couldn't avoid her husband, even if she wished with everything that was in her that she could.

"In the bathroom. I'll be out in a minute," she said, hoping that he would take the hint and not come in there with her.

Even though he didn't come in, he did come to talk to her from outside of the closed bathroom door.

"You okay baby? What are you doing in here?" he asked, wondering why she wasn't using the bathroom that was attached to their bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I had to use the bathroom really bad…" her phone started vibrating. Her eyes got huge, but she answered it anyway. She kept talking to him so that Rick would know Mike was there and she wouldn't be able to engage in a full conversation with him right then. She swiped her phone to connect the call. "...and I couldn't make it all the way to the bathroom in our room. I'll be out in a minute," she said again.

Rick was about to start speaking, but Michonne was obviously having a conversation with Mike and was about to hang up.

"One second," she whispered to him urgently.

"Okay," he whispered back though he didn't have to whisper. He was still outside in his car.

"Do you need anything?" Mike called through the door.

Rick could hear him and he instantly hated the guy. He'd thought he hated him earlier, but this was a new type of hate. He didn't want Mike getting Michonne anything. He wanted that job...exclusively.

"No, I'm fine. I'm gonna take a shower and I'll be out in a minute," she said for the third time.

"Okay. Listen, I'm beat babe. I'm going to bed. Don't take too long okay. You know I have a hard time sleeping if you're not next to me."

Michonne cringed knowing Rick could hear everything Mike was saying. She didn't respond to her husband, and thankfully, she heard his footfalls moving away from the bathroom.

When she was sure he was gone, she whispered to Rick, "I'm so sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry. It's something I guess I'm gonna have to get used to, though I have no fucking clue how. I don't like thinking about you lying next to him, or you waking up with him, or him kissing…"

"Stop, please," she whispered. She could detect a little anger in Rick's voice and it made her heart beat speed up a bit. "I know. I feel the exact same way," she whispered, "but we'll deal with it, right?"

"For how long?" Rick asked still a little heated at what he heard coming out of Mike's mouth, but trying to calm down for Michonne's sake. But not much. "I know I have no right to be angry right now, seeing as how I'm parked in front of the house I share with my wife, but I can't help it. You're mine," he growled at her.

Michonne closed her eyes as that possessive growl he gave her went from her ear and traveled through her body, landing on her clit.

"I know Rick, and you're mine," she whispered huskily. "And as soon as we're together again, I'm gonna show you just how much you belong to me."

She wanted to touch herself so bad at that moment, that she had to put her hand behind her back to keep it from creeping to her pussy, which was currently dripping… again.

"I can't fucking wait," Rick growled again, having no idea what his voice alone was doing to the woman on the other end of the phone. Then she moaned softly into his ear, and he got a pretty good idea.

"You want to show me right now, don't you?" he asked her, his voice low and intense.

Michonne was determined not to be the only one who got all hot and bothered. She quickly turned the tables on him.

"God yes," she whispered. "I'm standing in my bathroom right now, naked and so fucking wet. I had to put my hand behind my back to keep from rubbing my pussy. I want you so fucking bad right now Rick."

"Fuck baby. Jesus Christ," Rick moaned as his own hand went to his cock which was currently pushing his pants into a tent. He forced himself to stop. "Save it for me Michonne. Don't touch yourself, okay," he groaned.

"For how long?" she asked echoing the question he'd asked her earlier without even realizing it. He could hear the desperation in her voice. It matched his own perfectly.

"I made a reservation for us at the JW Marriott in Buckhead. I had to make special arrangements so that we could check in at 6 am. I don't have to be to work until 9 so we'll have a little time before I have to go in. When I get to work, I'm going to beg off and come back to you. Do you think you'll be able to spend the day with me?"

"Yes. Mike usually leaves the house between 6 and 7, so I'll be there as soon as it's safe for me to leave," she said, elated that she would be able to see Rick again so soon. "I know it'll be cutting it close and we won't get that much time together at first, but I'll wait there for you to come back to me and I'll make up the lost time to you," she whispered with a smile plastered across her face.

"I can't wait to see you again," he said with his eyes closed. He could see her there, behind his eyelids, but it was a sad substitution to the real thing.

"Me either Rick," she said softly, picturing his face, just as he was with her. "Are you still outside of your house?"

"Yeah."

"You'd better head on inside or you'll be out there all night and I'm gonna spend the night in this bathroom while we talk to each other."

He knew she was absolutely right, but he wasn't ready to hang up yet. "Just a few more minutes, okay?" he practically begged her.

"Okay," she granted him, secretly glad he asked. She didn't want to let him go either.

"You want to tell me about the surprise you have for me?" she asked him.

At first he had no clue what Michonne was talking about, but then he remembered The Cottage. "I do want to tell you, but I'm not going to. Not yet," he said smiling.

"Aww, pleeeease," she teased.

"Michonne," he said firmly. "I'm not gonna tell you. But I promise I'll take your mind off of it when I finally get to see you again," he said a little softer.

"I bet I can make you tell me," she said giggling softly. "After all, I'm gonna have all day long to work on you."

"Jesus," he whispered, thinking of what she was going to do to him. "We'll see who makes who do what tomorrow ma'am." Actually, just thinking about how he was going to spend his day tomorrow almost made him spill the beans right then.

"Challenge accepted," Michonne whispered. "Now, I think it's time we get off the phone," she said a little sadly.

"Okay," he said sounding just as sad. He looked up at his house and instantly regretted the fact that he'd have to actually go inside.

"I miss you already. What the fuck did you do to me?" Rick asked laughing into the phone.

"I could ask you the same thing sir," Michonne said. "Oh yeah. Check your face before you go inside. I think you might have my lipstick on your lips."

Rick looked at himself in the rearview mirror and sure enough, there was a slight red tint to his mouth. "Thanks baby," he said as he regrettably wiped it away.

"You're welcome. And when you're falling asleep next to _her_ tonight, I want you to think about all the places I'm going to smear my lipstick on your body when I see you again," Michonne said feeling sexy and just a little mean spirited at the same time. She heard a low chuckle coming from Rick on the other end of the line.

"I love you Michonne," he said, not feeling even a little bit awkward about telling this woman he barely knew something so sacred.

"I love you too Rick," Michonne said, feeling just as confident as he did.

When they finally disconnected the call, Rick got out of his car and trudged his way up the steps and to his front door. He opened the door and was grateful for the darkness and the solitude. He took his shoes off at the door and placed his keys inside the 'key bowl' his son Carl made in his art class at school. He needed to hurry and get in the shower to wash off his recent activities. He headed for the steps, trying not to wake anyone, but wasn't successful.

"Hey, baby. You're home," Lori said raising up from the couch where she'd been waiting on him to come home.

"Hey," Rick said, though what he really wanted to say was 'SHIT!' "What are you doing down here?" he asked trying his best to keep the growing annoyance out of his voice.

"I guess I fell asleep waiting for you. So, did you have a good time on your night out with the boys?" she asked getting up to join him on the steps.

"Yeah, I did. They say they do it every Friday night. I told them I didn't think I could do it every Friday night, but I did have a good time, and I figure I could join them every now and then," Rick said. He knew his wife like the back of his hand and he knew exactly what her response would be to what he'd just said.

"Don't be silly baby. If you want to go out and have a little fun at the end of the week, you go on. You deserve it," she said smiling at her husband.

" _Bingo!"_ Rick thought. But just as fast as that triumphant feeling overcame him, it left him just as quick and Rick's heart turned a flip. " _It's the end of the fucking week! Tomorrow is Saturday! I don't fucking work on Saturday's! SHIT!"_ he screamed to himself. Lori could see something come over her husband, something he was distressed about.

"You okay sweetie? What's wrong?" she asked concerned for her husband.

Rick looked over at Lori, another idea coming to him.

"I'm fine. I just remembered, I have to work tomorrow. The Commissioner was supposed to head up this 'Community Outreach' symposium with some of the community leaders of Atlanta, but he's not sure if he's gonna be able to make it. Enter the Deputy Commissioner," he sighed, lying easily to his wife. "In fact, even if he is able to come, I should probably be there anyway. It starts at 8 am, but I'm gonna have to be there a little early. Sorry about this."

"Oh, it's okay. Carl asked if we could go back to Cedartown for the day anyway. He's missing Josh and I told him I'd ask you when you got back home."

"Lori, you don't have to ask me if you can take our son anywhere. Of course you can. It's just too bad I can't come along," Rick said, feeling like he was about to take flight. He couldn't believe his unbelievable stroke of luck!

They made their way up the stairs, Rick a little bit ahead of his wife.

"Boy, you must have had fun tonight," Lori said.

And just like that, that feeling of flying was replaced with a leaden dread.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You're shirt is untucked in the back Rick," Lori said.

He couldn't tell if she was mad, or if she suspected anything, but, he found that he really, honestly didn't care. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her right then why his shirt was untucked, but he had to think of Michonne. She wasn't ready yet (hence the dread he'd felt) and he was determined to wait for her.

"Oh yeah," Rick said looking back at his shirt and smiling. Lori thought he was smiling thinking of all the fun he had. She wasn't entirely wrong. "We got a little caught up in 'cuttin' loose'. That dart game was intense."

She laughed at him. "Did you win at least?" she asked as they continued up the stairs.

"I didn't have to pay for one drink all night," he said proudly. This actually wasn't a lie. He didn't have to pay for his drinks as he was the new guy. "I'm gonna hit the shower. I'm tired as hell and I have to get out of here early in the morning," Rick said trying to close this conversation as they made their way into their bedroom. Thankfully, Lori yawned.

"Okay honey. Do you think you'll be gone before we get up?"

"Probably. Tell Carl to have a good time. And you have a good time too, okay?" he said as he softly closed the bathroom door in his wife's face.

* * *

Next Morning

Michonne feigned sleep when Mike tried to wake her up before he started getting ready to go to work. She could feel his hard-on being pressed into her ass as he kissed her on the neck. She kept her eyes closed and ignored her husband, hoping he would just leave her alone and go get ready. Finally, she felt the bed dip as Mike gave up his quest for some morning lovin' and went to get in the shower. When she heard the water start, she opened her eyes and checked the clock on her bedside table. It was 6:03 am. This put a smile on her face. Mike would be gone in about 30 minutes and she planned to be gone a few minutes after he left. 10 minutes later the shower was turned off and Mike emerged, drying himself off.

Mike was trying his best to be quiet so as not to wake up Michonne. He hoped she'd wake up before he left for the day so he could talk to her. He didn't want to talk about anything in particular. He just wanted to talk. After he was dressed, he went downstairs to fix himself a quick breakfast. A couple of boiled eggs, some bacon and an english muffin. He made extra for Michonne, turning it into a breakfast sandwich, because he knew that was the way she liked it and placed it in the microwave oven for her. He also left her coffee in the pot. When he'd finished eating and she still hadn't come out of their bedroom, he went in there and decided to wake her up so that he could tell her goodbye.

"Hey baby," he whispered as he gently rubbed her back. Her eyes came open slowly and he smiled down at her. "You were really tired huh? I'm sorry to wake you, but I have to head out. I'll probably be home a little late tonight. This fucking job is a beast," he said.

"That's okay. I'll find something to do," Michonne said yawning. "There's a small seminar at Barnes & Noble about getting a good literary agent and writing query letters. I thought I'd check it out," Michonne lied.

"That's cool baby," he said as he bent over to kiss his wife. Michonne turned her head away from him so he kissed her cheek instead of her mouth, which he was aiming for.

She covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled, "morning breath," when she noticed the look on his face. He looked slightly hurt. Unfortunately, he would have to get used to that.

"Okay, baby. I'll see you tonight. Don't forget to eat today. I left your breakfast in the microwave," Mike said as he made his way out of the room.

"Thanks Mike. Have a good day," she said.

"Oh yeah. I can smell your breath all the way over here," he said jokingly. He felt strange about his and Michonne's morning interaction for some reason and couldn't put his finger on why.

"Shut up!" Michonne said laughing at her husband's joke.

He loved to see her smile and whenever she did, he felt okay. When she laughed at his joke, that weird feeling was pushed to the back of his mind where it would sit for months, hiding from him, making him forget about it, until it was too late.

* * *

Rick checked into the hotel at 6 o'clock on the dot. He'd gotten out of the house without too much interference. He did make a point to go and talk with his son before he left. He just wanted to tell him to have a good time and that he was sorry he couldn't come with him. Carl was half asleep and forgave his dad for his would be absence and then promptly dropped back to sleep.

Rick put on a pair of broken in, comfortable jeans, a clean white t-shirt and his cowboy boots. He thought better of the white t-shirt after thinking about it for a half a minute. White had the potential to pick up a lot, including another woman's lipstick (if he was lucky) so he changed into a dark gray one.

"Better," he thought, as he grabbed his blue blazer and headed out the door.

He didn't try to wake up his wife before he left and he didn't fix her breakfast. He had better things to do. There was a small moment when he felt like a huge asshole. He was cheating on his wife. He was about to blow up his life. Not only his life, but his kids lives as well. Carl's life. He would have to make it up to him after everything went to shit, but Rick decided he'd just cross that bridge when he got to it. Yeah, it was shitty, but he felt there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Rick paced the floor of the huge hotel room suite, checking his watch and looking at the door. It was only 6:30 and he knew it was gonna take Michonne at least another hour before she got there. He was anxious though. He could hardly wait to see her. He looked at his cell phone and decided to text her. He knew he was taking a risk, but he had to. Michonne told him that Mike left the house between 6 and 7 and it was now exactly that.

 **-Hey you. Room 1015 at the JW. Hurry-**

He put his cell in his pocket after he sent the message and went to call the room service on the phone provided by the hotel.

"Hey, I need you to deliver breakfast to room 1015. Yeah, let me get a couple of Blood Peach Bellinis, better yet, can you just bring up a pitcher? Okay, great. Um, four of these butterscotch sticky buns," he said as he perused the menu. "Two of the blackberry and brie omelets, and lots and lots of bacon," he said hoping she'd like what he ordered for them.

"Is there any way to I can get some flowers?" he asked hopefully. "Oh great! Sweet Peas please," he said. Then after a beat, "Oh, um, purple would be great. Thanks… Yeah, that'll do it… Thank you."

He was very pleased with himself when he hung up the phone. He looked at the time again. 6:42. "Shit, is time going backwards?" he asked himself.

In order to pass the time, he turned on the television. The news was on and the extremely attractive male and female newscasters were talking about the massive pollution problem in China that was making a lot of people there sick. He looked on and witnessed an inordinate amount of people walking around some city in China, all of them wearing small white masks covering their mouths and noses. He wasn't really paying attention though. He kept looking at the door. Finally, he turned the TV off and stepped outside onto the terrace.

Atlanta was beautiful so early in the morning. The sun was peeking behind the clouds in the sky and he silently hoped it would rain. Hard. The idea of being locked up with Michonne while the world outside scattered to get under cover from a storm appealed to him. Then he curbed that thought. If it rained, Mike would probably have to leave whatever work site he was at, and he'd come home to find Michonne gone. He looked up at the sky, suddenly worried but realized that wasn't gonna happen. The sun was burning away the clouds already, and the sky was clear.

There was a knock at the door. He swung his head around and was suddenly nervous as hell. That didn't stop him from power walking to answer it though. When he did, he saw, in his opinion, the only thing capable of taking the shine away from the sun.

"Michonne," he sighed happily, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. At first, he could only stare at her. She wore a simple white strapless sundress with a pattern of cherry blossoms down one side, that flattered her shape immensely. Her shoulders were exposed to him and it looked like her skin was glowing. She _had_ stolen the sun's shine, he thought happily. Her locs were down around her face with small gold clips attached to a few of them.

"You're beautiful," he said to her in awe. He still couldn't believe that she was actually there, with him.

"So are you," she said softly, smiling up at him.

He gathered her up in his arms, hugging her tightly around her small waist. When she hugged him back, letting her hands run through his hair as she did, every fear he had regarding their future together fell away.

He lowered his head and kissed her shoulder, rubbing his hand up and down her back. He let his kisses trail up to her neck, where he kissed the bruise he'd created the night before. He kissed her under her chin. She turned her face toward his and he moved in on her soft, velvety lips. He kissed her some more before he sucked the top one into his mouth. Their tongues met and danced delicately around each other. Tasting.

Michonne tightened her arms around his neck and moaned into Rick's mouth. _This_ is what she wanted. _This_ was the morning kiss she'd been holding out for. Before she knew what was happening, her back met the door and Rick was pressed up against her, gently attacking her mouth with his own. After a couple of minutes, they stopped kissing and Rick rested his forehead on hers.

"I missed you so much," he said to her.

"I'm sorry. I got out as soon as I could," she said, rubbing his face, loving his scruffy beard.

"Don't apologize. I think I'd miss you if you just went to the bathroom," he laughed quietly. "Have you eaten anything yet?" he asked her, as they made their way into the room that was theirs for the day.

"No, I haven't," Michonne said, suddenly remembering the breakfast Mike told her he'd left in the microwave for her. She'd forgotten all about it.

"You like bacon?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Maybe a little too much," she joked.

"There is no such thing as liking bacon too much Ms. Michonne," he said.

She laughed at him and it made him happy to hear her laughter. It reminded him of wind-chimes.

"Did I tell you that you were beautiful?" he whispered, rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

"You did," she said, looking down at her feet.

It never ceased to amaze Michonne when someone told her that. She could remember growing up and having the exact opposite reaction from people. She was always told that her skin was too dark, her lips were too big, her nose was too wide, her hair was too kinky. There was always something about her that someone would point out to make her feel...less. Thank God for her mother, who told her repeatedly that she was beautiful. That she was the most perfect thing. Everyday, until the day she died, and eventually, Michonne started to believe it.

The knock at the door brought Michonne out of her own head.

"I ordered breakfast. I hope you like what I picked," he said as he went to answer the door.

"I'm sure I'll love whatever you chose," she called out to him as she sat and crossed her legs on the huge king sized bed, that despite how big it was, didn't dominate the huge room.

The server pushed a wheeled cart into their room with lots of dishes of different sizes, covered in silver domes, and some kind of drink which made her mouth water just looking at it.

"Good morning ma'am," the man with the food said to her, smiling.

"Good morning," she responded, and smiled back at him politely.

"Um, do you want me to set your table?" he asked her, now openly staring at her legs, not even aware of the danger he was in.

"No," Rick said harshly, making the guy jump. "We're just fine. Thank you," he said as he went to stand in front of Michonne, thereby blocking the interlopers view. Rick went in his pocket, pulled out a ten dollar bill, slapped it into the guy's hand (a little hard) and jerked his head toward the door. With his eyes alone, Rick pretty much told the guy to get the fuck out.

Realizing he may have overstepped just a taste, the poor guy quickly made his way to the door with Rick right on his tail. He looked at his tip as Rick opened the door, and was quite pleased. "Let us know if you…" Rick slammed the door in his face, effectively cutting off his spiel.

Michonne did her best not to giggle. "Come here you," she said standing up and holding her hand out to Rick.

When he got close to her, she kissed him on the lips and sat him on the bed with a small push in his chest. She then climbed into his lap and wrapped her arm around his neck. With the other hand on his cheek, she gently turned his head toward her.

"You okay?"

Rick moved his arm to encircle her waist while the other lay across her flat belly. "Did I make a spectacle of myself," he asked her, looking into her soft brown eyes.

"A little, but you were just _so_ cute while you did it," she said unable to hold in her light laughter.

"Well, I'm just so glad you got a kick out of me acting like an idiot," he said, chuckling himself.

"I did. But you just remember, you're my idiot," she said.

"Always," he said and moved his face close to get a kiss.

Rick tightened his grip on Michonne's body, like he was afraid she was gonna fly away from him. Upon feeling how close he was holding her, Michonne tightened up her own grip slightly, though she moved her face away from him to stop the kiss.

"Where you going?" he asked her.

"Absolutely nowhere," she said, "but we'd better eat up before you have to leave."

"Oh shit, that's right. I don't have to go anywhere."

"Really?" she asked happily.

"Really. You got me all day Ms. Michonne," he said.

"Good," she sighed and sucked on his neck softly, making him moan. And then, just as quick as she'd started, she stopped. "Let's eat, before it gets cold, then I'm gonna convince you to tell me what my surprise is," she said, jumping out of his lap and making her way to the food cart.

Rick followed her and grabbed her from behind while she took the silver covers off of the food.

"You keep that up and you won't get a chance at this food," he said, rubbing his hardness into her ass.

"You'd deny me all of this fabulousness?" she asked, turning in his arms to face him.

"I'd never deny you anythang," he said. "Except knowing what your surprise is," he said smiling at her.

"Let's eat cowboy. I'm starving."

"Okay. Go on over there and have a seat," he said pointing to the small dining table near the window looking out over the city. "I'll bring you your food."

Michonne took off her shoes and went to sit down. She looked out the window and noticed there was a place to eat out on the terrace.

"Can we eat it outside?" she asked.

"Anything you want," he said looking up at her.

"I'll help you take this stuff out," she said as she walked over and grabbed the plate full of bacon and the pitcher of aromatic, peachy red liquid. "What is this? It smells wonderful."

"That darlin', is a pitcher of Blood Peach Bellinis. I've never had it before, but it sounded pretty good."

He grabbed the plates with the omelet and followed Michonne outside. He went back in to get the sticky buns and the napkins and went outside to have breakfast with his love. Before he went back in however, he heard Michonne's phone start to ring. As much as he didn't want to mention it, he knew he had to. They needed to be careful.

"Your phone's ringing Michonne," he said, trying not to pout. He put the food and napkins down and had a seat, regretting telling Michonne about her ringing phone since she was getting up to go answer it.

"I'll be right back," she said as she bent down to kiss him, trying to make him feel better.

Rick made himself not turn around and watch her. If it was Mike, he didn't want to hear her talking to him. Michonne came right back out however. He saw that she had her phone in her hand.

"It was my dad, but I missed the call. I'll call him back later," she said laying the phone on the table. "So, what did you order?"

"These are blackberry and brie omelets, and those are butterscotch sticky buns. That there is a plate of bacon," he said, pouring the both of them a Bellini.

"Ha ha," she said at his crack about the bacon. "What are these?" she said, running her fingers over the dainty purple flowers.

"Those are Sweet Peas. Do you like them?"

"They're beautiful."

She took one of the little flowers out of its vase and smelled it. It's aroma was not too strong. In fact, it was very delicate. Rick plucked the flower from her hand and put it in her hair. " _Now_ it's beautiful," he told her.

They ate in an unrestrained, comfortable silence that's usually reserved for those couples that have been together for years and years. The peach Bellini's were sweet, crisp, and had just the right amount of vodka in them.

When they were done, Rick stood up and held his hand out to Michonne in order to lead them back into the room. She took it, suddenly very shy for some reason. She felt like a teenager and she laughed at the notion.

"What's so funny?" Rick asked, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her shoulder again. He couldn't seem to get enough of them.

"I was just thinking of how this," she said indicating the two of them, "makes me feel."

"And how's that?" Rick asked as he kissed his way across her clavicle bone.

"I feel like a kid again. Like I'm in this new, fresh and exciting relationship and I can only look ahead at all of the great things to come. Don't you remember...ohh," Michonne moaned as Rick slipped her sundress down and tongued her nipple. "Don't you remember," she said breathing just a little harder, "when you got a new girlfriend in highschool? Someone that you had your eye on and you finally talk to them and you discover they like you just as much as you like them. Remember how good that made you feel?" Michonne moaned.

She knew she was rambling, but she really couldn't be blamed for that considering what Rick was doing to her tits.

"Lori was the only girlfriend I ever had in highschool and believe me when I tell you, it didn't feel half as good as this." Rick said kissing Michonne on the lips.

Michonne pushed Rick's blazer down his arms and off onto the floor. She grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head. Rick pulled Michonne's dress the rest of the way down her body. It was already down past her breasts and all it took was a small tug to get rid of it completely.

Rick and Michonne walked to the foot of the bed and he turned so she was facing the huge pillowy surface. Coming up behind her, he reached around her body, gently pinching her breast with one hand and moved her hair to the side, away from her neck, with the other. When her neck was available to him, he licked and sucked at her smooth brown skin. Michonne wrapped her arm around Rick's head from behind and fingered his curls because she knew he liked it. Proven when he pushed his denim covered cock into her backside, moaning her name into her neck. He was tasting her skin, and as much as he loved it, it wasn't enough.

Kissing her once more, he pulled back and went to his knees behind her. He ran his hands up along her outer thighs until he got to her panties, where he hooked them with his fingers and slowly pulled them down.

"Step out, baby," he said.

He threw her panties on top of the growing pile of their clothes and turned his attention to the most magnificent ass he'd ever seen. Rick began kissing and sucking at the soft flesh while Michonne tried her best to keep her legs from giving out on her. She was relieved when she felt Rick gently push at the small of her back, indicating that she should bend over onto the bed. The bed was perfectly tall enough for what he wanted. He lifted one of Michonne's legs and had her place it on the bed, and bend it at the knee. When she did this, she was open to him. His eyes level with her wet pussy. He leaned in and kissed her thighs, her ass, and the back of her knee. He watched as she trembled under his kisses, knowing she was desperate for him to get to her soft and sticky center. And he did, because, he too was trembling with anticipation.

He pulled her body back toward him and placed her other leg on the bed, bent at the knee just like the other so that she was wide open to him. Now Michonne was hanging off the bed, only secured by Rick's hands and mouth which was latched securely onto her pussy. Michonne had never experienced anything like it. She felt like she was floating. She could feel Rick's full pink lips sucking on her clit as if he was trying to get juice from it. If he kept up the pace he was using, he would get it. He stopped sucking and licked her pussy, separating her swollen slick lips so that he could get at her hole. He slurped at her, causing her to move her hips back at his face, like she was trying to drown him in her pre cum. She raised up on her elbows and looked back only able to see the top of Rick's head as he went to work on her.

He was currently holding her up by placing her legs that were no longer supported by the bed, across his arms while his hands rested on her ass. She had no control, and she could give a fuck. Rick grabbed her ass and parted her cheeks and proceeded to lick her crease from the top of her ass all the way back down to her clit. Over and over again. Michonne could feel her face heating up. That heat started traveling downwards, touching her shoulders, radiating down her back and rolling around to her core. When it hit her pussy, she cried out. She couldn't readily identify the words she was feeling, but she didn't have to. Rick knew exactly what she meant. He quickly flipped her over so that her back was on the bed, but he was still holding up her lower body and attacked her clit, sucking it between his lips and swishing it back and forth with the very tip of his tongue.

"Rick," she moaned, not knowing what else to say. The combination of him sucking at her, his beard scratching at her thighs and the smacking noises he was making as he ate her out was enough to send Michonne right over the edge.

"Oh god...don't stop," she begged him. She grabbed his hair to get some kind of purchase, trying to balance herself as her hips writhed while she fucked his face. She was in desperate need for completion.

"Right there...right there Rick...I'm coming!" she yelled, not caring if the people in the next room could hear her as she came all over his face.

Rick stopped the intense sucking of Michonne's clit and just licked her softly until she was finished. He, on the other hand, was just getting started.

"You okay," he asked, as he pushed her body up, so that her ass could once again rest on the bed, and stood between the space she made with her opened thighs. She just nodded her head, too outdone to even speak. Rick unbuckled his belt and unfastened his pants. When Michonne heard the 'tinkle' of the belt being unbuckled, she looked up at Rick standing in front her with her juices all over his mouth, smirking like the cat that got the cream. Her legs were gapped open so widely, it made her hips ache a little, but she didn't care. She rubbed her pussy slowly as she watched him take off his pants, which sent that smirk of his to parts unknown. He let his pants and boxers fall to the ground, stepping out of them as he bent his body over Michonne. She could see his cock, huge and bobbing up and down in front of him as he moved them both to the top of the bed. Michonne was hypnotized. Rick pulled the comforter, blanket and top sheet back, lifting her up gently so that he could move them to the bottom of the bed.

"I want to see every inch of you," he said as he kicked all of the bedcovers onto the floor.

Michonne grabbed Rick's face and proceeded to lick her own essence from his mouth, sucking his lips in between her own. To Rick, it was the most erotic thing he'd experienced to date and suddenly, he didn't want to spend another minute not being inside of her.

Rick grabbed his cock and slid the head up and down Michonne's moist slit, coating himself with her wetness.

"You ready for me?" he asked as he slipped just the head of his cock into her and pulled it back out.

Michonne nodded her head eagerly.

"Tell me then," he said as he slipped inside her again, and again just the tip and just for a second.

"Don't tease me, baby. I need you to fuck me."

Looking Michonne in her eyes, Rick slipped into her tight pussy. He pulled back a little, and pushed again, getting even more of his cock into her. He was torturously slow as he fucked her not wanting to hurt her. It took everything in him _not_ to slam his cock into her and fuck her until he and she both came screaming, but he didn't want to cause her any pain. Once he hit her bottom, he had to stop for a second as he was on the verge of coming. Michonne's cunt was virtually massaging him. It felt like she was lined with velvet. Warm, soft velvet. He needed to get his head together.

"You okay?" she asked him, growing concerned as he'd stopped moving.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just...don't...move. Not if you don't want this to be over sooner than later," he said smiling at her.

"Are you gonna come," she whispered to him as she just barely tightened her pussy around him.

"Michonne, babe, please. I'm right fucking there," he said. She knew he was. The sweat collecting on his brow was a dead give-away.

She squeezed his cock again, just a little so that he could feel it but it wouldn't send him over the edge. Not yet. "But, don't you wanna come?" she asked, teasing him.

"Fuck."

"I'm trying to, but you won't let me," Michonne said as she rolled her hips.

"Michonne, I'm warning you sweetheart," Rick growled at her, trying his best to calm down.

"You want me to stop?" she asked him innocently.

"Yes baby. Just for a second. I'm not ready to come yet," he whispered.

"OK. Just tell me what my surprise is."

Rick looked at her like she'd grown an extra head. "What? Are you kidding me?"

"Are you gonna tell me?"

" _No_.. _.!_ " he said, managing to yell and laugh at the same time.

"Okay," Michonne said in a deceptively sweet sing-song voice.

She began rolling her hips in earnest, slamming herself into him, squeezing and loosening her cunt around his girth over and over. Rick couldn't take it anymore. He buried his face in her hair and just let his own hips go to work. The enthusiasm in which he fucked Michonne was something he didn't think he had in him. Never before had sex been this fucking intense for him.

Even though Michonne initiated it and was in complete control a few minutes ago, the tables (to Michonne's delight) were quickly turned. Rick was in control now, and Michonne let him have it...this time.

Rick grabbed her hands and pulled them over her head, holding both of her small wrists in one of his hands. He braced himself on his elbow with his other arm and proceeded to fuck Michonne until she was screaming his name. He was so close to the edge he knew he wasn't gonna last long, but he couldn't stop.

"Wrap your legs around me baby," he grunted, and was satisfied when he felt those long beautiful legs circle his waist, allowing him to go deeper within her, striking her bottom with every stroke.

"Fuck...fuck...fuck, I'm gonna come!" he said as he started to pull out.

Michonne tightened her grip on his waist with her legs, not letting him out. "I'm on the pill," she said hurriedly.

Rick stopped trying to escape and kissed her deeply as he fucked her with true purpose, grunting as deeply as his thrusts.

Michonne bit down on her bottom lip and she came again to her utter surprise.

"Oh shit," Rick gasped, as he felt her become impossibly tight around him again and came as well...hard. He roared out his release as he shot his cum into her warm and slippery pocket.

Rick and Michonne lay in bed, him still inside her and not wanting to move, panting. Finally after a couple of minutes, Rick rolled over and pulled Michonne into his side.

"I know of this place called The Cottage a few miles away. I was gonna rent it for a week so that we can be together, uninterrupted. I just need to know when you can get away and I'll do the same. That's your surprise," Rick said when he got enough air in his lungs and was allowed to speak again.

Michonne smiled into Rick's chest and murmured, "I win," before she dropped off to sleep.

"I think that might have been a tie," Rick said, and went to sleep himself.

Out on the terrace, Michonne's phone rang and rang. It wasn't her father this time, but just like before, it went unanswered.

* * *

Mike gave up and disconnected the call. He was excited to tell Michonne about the new job his company just acquired. He would get to build a new community center for the kids of Atlanta, which would be connected to police headquarters downtown. It was exciting and a step in the right direction for police/community relations. He'd agreed to do it for a quarter of what a job this big would actually cost. They were putting in two pools, indoor and outdoor; tennis courts; basketball courts; a computer room; a game room; and a few classrooms. The project wasn't going to be underway for about 6 more months, and he still needed to meet the Deputy Commissioner since he would be the man Mike would be collaborating with regarding this huge undertaking, but he was excited. He just wished he could get in touch with his wife.

* * *

An hour after Michonne and Rick dropped off into a very satisfied sleep, Rick felt something warm and amazing on his cock. He didn't want to open his eyes, but he knew he had to in order to find out what in the hell was going on down there. He opened them when that wonderful feeling went away, and he started to protest, but Michonne slipped one of his balls into her mouth and he was rendered speechless.

Michonne looked up to see those now, cloudy blue eyes looking down at her, and smiled around her mouthful. She gripped Rick's cock gently and began to stroke him as she popped one of his balls out of her mouth and sucked on the other one.

"Jesus," he moaned softly.

She kept stroking close to his base as she licked up Rick's hard shaft and circled the head with her tongue. His pre cum oozed from him and she sipped at it and pulled back, letting the sticky fluid cling to her lips, creating a stringy connection from her mouth to his cock.

Rick's eyes almost popped out of his head at the visual she was providing him.

Michonne licked her lips, subsequently breaking the connection and continued to stroke his cock, using the flowing clear liquid to give him a smooth hand-job. She ran her thumb over the head of his prick, and his hips jerked up towards her. She lowered her mouth on him and kept going until he was practically in her throat. She relaxed, swallowed, and hummed around his cock. He shouted, "Michonne!" and he proceeded to come with his hands in her hair. She pulled back a little and caught his climax in her mouth, sucking him dry as he helped her to move her head up and down his shaft.

When he was finished, Michonne sat up between his legs and smiled at him.

"How was that?" she asked him as she wiped a little excess come from the corner of her mouth with her finger and sucked it back into her mouth.

"I...I...that…" Rick muttered like an adorable idiot.

Michonne smirked at him. "That's okay. I can guess," she said as she lay down on his chest.

"It was fucking amazing," Rick said in awe.

"Well, I had to pay you back for earlier. I didn't want you to think you were the only one with an excellent head game," she said giggling.

"Are you kidding. Last night in the backseat of my car is imprinted on my brain," he said hugging her tightly.

"Good."

It was currently 11:45, almost lunch time, and Rick wanted to feed Michonne again.

"You hungry?" he asked her softly, kissing her hair.

"Despite that huge breakfast, I could definitely eat again," Michonne said.

"Well, you did work up an appetite darlin'," he said smiling into her hair.

"That I did," she answered. "You order something, while I go to the bathroom," Michonne said trying to get up. Rick wasn't ready to let her go yet.

"Kiss me first?" he asked her.

She smiled at his sweetness and gave him what he wanted. When they were both satisfied, Rick let go of the death grip he had around her waist and watched as she walked into the bathroom. He was about to tell her to leave the door open, but figured that was just too fucking weird. He picked up the phone and dialed room service.

"Hey baby," he yelled through the closed bathroom door, "you're not allergic to anything are you?" "Just one minute," he said when the phone was answered.

"No, I'm not, but I hate beets," she yelled back.

"Got it," he said to her and nixed the idea for the roasted baby beet salad.

He ordered a cheese board, _whatever the fuck that was_ , and a couple of Nox Creek Cobb salads which he hoped he didn't end up regretting since it was sprinkled with a good helping of boiled eggs. One grilled Angus burger and fries for himself and a Turkey club for Michonne. He also ordered a bottle of Perrier-Jouët.

"Yeah, that'll do it...thanks."

Rick hung up the phone and turned to find Michonne standing there, smiling at him.

"What are you smiling at Ms. Michonne," he asked as he walked over to her, or stalked, depending on how you look at it.

"You," she said as he gathered her in his arms. "I'm so glad we're able to be together like this. I just…"

"Tell me," he said as he led her over to the bed so that they could sit down and talk.

Michonne looked down at her lap, trying to figure out where to start. Rick's heart started to beat painfully in his chest and he said a silent prayer that she wasn't having second thoughts about them.

"Michonne," he said worried when she still hadn't spoken.

She looked up at him and sighed. Rick thought he felt his heart stop.

"This morning...with Mike," she started.

"No, no, no Michonne, please," he said trying to get up from the bed. "I can't," he whispered.

She held on to his hand and stood up in front of him. "Listen to me Rick, please?"

After a few seconds, he nodded his head begrudgingly and stayed silent.

"This morning, he wanted to make love," Rick moaned and tried to move away again, "but I couldn't do it," she said quickly, to stop the torture. "I couldn't do it Rick. I pretended I was asleep until he just left me alone."

Rick's shoulders had become as tense as a steel cord, but now he relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. He grabbed Michonne and hugged her so tightly, she had a little trouble breathing, but she let him continue, knowing she caused him just a little pain when she couldn't get her words out correctly. She rubbed his back and he slowly relaxed his grip on her. She led them back to the bed where they sat down, but Rick pulled her into his lap and lay his head in the crook of her neck. She rubbed his hair.

"Do you see the problem?" she asked him gently.

He nodded his head. "I left so early that she was still asleep, but, we're gonna have to face this with them eventually."

"I love you Rick, and hiding us isn't right. It's gonna be painful, and shitty, and difficult, but as long as we have each other, I think we'll be okay."

"I know we will be," he said as he looked in her eyes. "When do we tell them?" he asked, both anxious to get _that_ part over with so he could be with Michonne without hiding it, and scared to death at the same time.

Michonne didn't have an answer as to when.

"I have no idea sweetheart, but it's gonna have to be soon," she said as she rubbed his face. "I can't bear to think of you with her. Being with her like you're with me. I just can't," she said quietly.

"Hey, hey," he whispered. "You don't have to worry about that. Baby, I'm determined for us to spend a long time gettin' to know each other. But one thing you need to know about me now: I'd never do that to you. You're all I want, I need you to believe that. You do, don't you?" he asked her.

She nodded her head and looked at him. "I do baby, but shit happens and…"

"Never, Michonne." Rick said firmly, looking into her eyes unflinchingly. "She and I will never be together again. Not that way."

"Let's promise each other. Promise me," she said desperately.

"I promise darlin'." Rick said smiling at her.

"Me too," Michonne said. "I promise too. So, we're gonna have to tell them soon."

"How about tomorrow?" Rick asked hopefully. "I'll keep this hotel room for the rest of this week and we can stay here after we tell them. Until we get something together," Rick said.

"Really? Tomorrow?" Michonne said feeling elated and frightened at the same time.

"You don't want to do it tomorrow?" Rick asked, a little disappointed.

"No, I don't," Michonne said. Rick's face fell. "I want to do it tonight," she said as she repositioned herself on his lap. She'd been in that bathroom thinking about Rick with his wife and she needed something to relieve her of that image. Something that reminded her, _and him_ , that he was hers.

She rubbed herself on his cock which was slowly coming back to life for her. He kissed her neck and she let her head fall back and savored the attention he was giving her. She kept sliding her pussy against the shaft of his cock and it wasn't long before she could have him inside of her. She seemed on a mission to Rick, like she really needed him and he was glad to give of himself. He lifted her by the waist and watched as she grabbed his dick and lined his head with her hole. She pushed herself down onto him, groaning in pleasure as she felt him fill her up, leaving no space for anything except himself. When she was seated comfortably, Rick stood up and walked to the side of the bed. He took her tit in his mouth and sucked at her while he lay them down. She hissed when he let his teeth clamp down onto her nipple. He licked at her after the little bite, asking for forgiveness.

Rick was slow and gentle with Michonne, and she was the same with him. They didn't hurry or rush to get to their individual completions. They truly indulged in each other this time, and realized that their declarations of love earlier, while true, were just a fraction of how they actually felt about each other.

* * *

Michonne was in the bathroom when their lunch finally came. It was the same guy that delivered their breakfast, but he seemed to keep his neck stiff and his eyes in his head this time. Rick smiled to himself and thought about apologizing to the guy for being an asshole earlier. Then he remembered the tip he gave the guy, and decided, that was apology enough. After the guy left, Rick looked at the bathroom door. He wanted to go in there so badly that he had his hand on the doorknob before he realized what he was doing. Michonne had taken her phone in the bathroom with her because she had seen that Mike had called and left a message. He let go of the doorknob and stepped back, deciding to set their food up on the terrace outside since that's what Michonne liked.

He wasn't quite finished when he turned to check if Michonne was coming out yet. Indeed she was, but the look on her face made him forget everything he was doing.

"What's wrong Michonne?"

"Listen to this," she said.

She played Mike's voicemail for Rick.

"Fuck," he said. "Did you call him back?"

"No. I wouldn't know what to say."

Those " _let's tell them tonight"_ plans were now shot to shit.

"We're in trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

Close To You

Chapter 3

After listening to Mike's voicemail, Michonne decided that she and Rick should wait before they try 'the big reveal'. It mortified her that Mike and Rick would actually be working together. Atlanta was a big city, but apparently, not big enough. This job was obviously very important to Mike and though she was cheating on him, she didn't want to hurt him even further by making him work with the man she was cheating with. At least, not to his knowledge. If Mike knew exactly who he was working with, he would surely give up on the job that obviously meant so much to him.

"We can't Rick. Not now," Michonne said.

Rick wanted to disagree. He could see the merit of him and Mike not working together on this project if Mike knew that Rick was in love with his wife. But, as much as he wanted to, he didn't argue. She was right. They'd already decided to be rats. There was no sense being cruel, too.

"I think I should go," Michonne said surprising Rick out of his contemplation.

"Why? Is he coming home early?" Rick asked.

"No, I just...I think it would be best if I go home," Michonne said, though she made no effort to get up from the bed.

"Are you having second thoughts about us?" Rick asked as he rubbed her shoulder, hoping that wasn't it and trying to think of what he would do if it was.

"No, I'm not," she said, looking him in his eyes. "I just need to think."

"You can think here. I promise not to bother you," he said smiling at her. "Besides, we haven't eaten lunch yet."

Michonne smiled back at him and admitted to herself that she didn't really want to leave him. She reached up and rubbed his face and moved her hand around his head to tangle it in his curls. He sighed in what she thought was relief and pulled his head to hers for a kiss. It was gentle and sweet and reminded her exactly why she was there with him in the first place.

"How about we eat our lunch before it gets any colder and you can think all you want," Rick said.

"Okay."

They went outside and had a surprisingly good meal despite the fact it had been sitting outside for a little over 10 minutes. Rick wanted to ask Michonne what she was thinking so badly that he kept having to shove food in his mouth to keep from talking. Michonne on the other hand was very calm and _was_ actually thinking about this new situation she found herself in. In love with a man she barely knew, who would be working closely with her husband for quite a few months in the near future.

Her head kept telling her to make this the last time she and Rick saw each other. Erase his number from her phone and block him so he would be unable to call her ever again. When she had these thoughts though, she could feel the bile rising in her throat at the thought of never seeing or speaking to Rick again. She was in love with him, there was no denying that.

She could tell he wanted to talk to her over their lunch. It was quiet, but not a comfortable silence like they'd experienced over breakfast. She ignored it and came to terms with what she was doing, how it affected her and those she loved, as well as those who loved and were loved by Rick. The two of them were wrong as two left feet and nothing she told herself about how much she loved him or how much he loved her (or how much they _thought_ they loved each other) could make their actions right. She looked over at the man that currently had her mind reeling.

Rick knew that whatever Michonne decided would severely affect the direction his life would take. If she didn't want to be with him anymore he didn't know what he would do. Of course, he'd have to accept her decision, but Jesus Christ, he'd do his best to convince her otherwise. He looked over at her and found she was looking at him. He thought he could feel the blood draining from his face, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. He knew without asking that she'd come to a decision and as anxious as he was to know how he would spend the rest of his life, he was also scared to death.

"What we're doing is wrong Rick," she said.

He couldn't speak as all of the saliva in his mouth had suddenly disappeared.

"I had been telling myself that I didn't care. That was how I got over being an asshole, by being an even bigger asshole. But, I do care. I do, and I can't help it. Mike, Lori, your children, they're all going to be devastated by what we're doing, and I do care. No matter how much you say that you don't care either, I know you do too. And as much as I know that what we're doing is dead ass wrong, I also know that for some crazy reason, that I love you more than I've ever loved a man before, and I know that you love me too."

Rick still couldn't speak, so he just nodded his head. Yes, he loved her.

"I want us to be together Rick. I want to be with you. I want to be able to go places with you where we don't have to show up at different times so that people won't know we're together. I know we can't do that yet, but I need for us to wait. Can you do that for me? Can you wait until I'm ready?" Michonne asked, knowing Rick wasn't happy about her decision to keep them a secret while he and Mike worked together.

"I'll do whatever it takes for us to be together Michonne. If it means we have to wait before we tell people, then I'm willing wait for you," Rick said. He'd found his voice. "You might have to coddle me a little when I start to pout about it though," he said sticking his bottom lip out.

She smiled at him and stood up.

"Come here you big baby," she said as she reached for him.

* * *

He grabbed her hand and she led them into the room, where it was much cooler, but she still dropped her robe. He'd lost his voice again. Michonne untied the belt on Rick's robe, opened it up and let her hands trail up his chest until she came to his shoulders where she helped his own robe fall from his frame. Michonne stood on her tip-toes and sucked in Rick's bottom lip. Rick ran his hands gently down her back, over her ass, grabbed her by the backs of her thighs, opened her legs, lifted her up and slid his cock into her smooth as silk. She was so perfect. Tight and already wet for him. As he walked them to the bed, Michonne was holding on to his neck for dear life, squeezing herself around his intrusion, making him moan her name. Then, to her surprise and slight disappointment, he pulled out and lay her on the bed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, trying not to whine.

"Nothing sweetheart. I just need you on your stomach."

Michonne raised her eyebrows at him and did what she was told. She could feel Rick knee walking over to her and gasped when he grabbed her ankles and spread her legs as wide as he needed them.

Rick gripped her hips gently and elevated her ass just a little. Just enough so he could see her pussy peeking at him from between her spread thighs. He licked at her pussy, kissing her lips and slipping his tongue inside of her. But he needed to be inside her in another way at that moment. Licking up her back, he moved his body up hers and lay down on her back as he gently slipped his dick into her from behind, now making her moan _his_ name. Before he put all of his weight on her body, he slipped his hand under her so that when she lay flat, she could grind her clit on his fingers as he fucked her.

Michonne soon realized what a great position his hand was in and took full advantage by sliding her slippery clit all over his fingers. With his hand trapped under her, Rick fucked Michonne gently, with his face buried in her neck. He used his other hand to grab hers and they held hands, just like they did when they first met.

Rick moved in and out of Michonne's tightness, starting slow and easy, but picking up the pace the longer they went. Even with her legs wide open beneath him, she was so tight around his cock, almost to the point of pain. He thrust into her over and over again, maneuvering his hand and dick in tandem, to make sure that she was pleased. He whispered a combination of sweet and filthy things in her ear. One second telling her how much he loved her and the next, whispering that he was gonna use her cum to lube his cock when he finally fucked her in the ass.

Michonne turned her face toward his and they kissed, sucking at each other. Rick felt like he'd just dodged a bullet out on the terrace. He felt for sure that she was going to tell him that they couldn't see each other anymore, but suddenly, as if she changed her mind _right_ before she decided to tell him it was over, she instead told him that she loved him. More than she loved any other.

"I love you Michonne," he moaned into her mouth. He knew he wouldn't get an answer back however, because at that moment, she was coming for him.

The motion of him pounding into her moved her clit back and forth across his fingers, unencumbered. With her legs wide open, Rick had easy access to her hard little button. He wanted to make sure she was happy. When she screamed his name and clenched her pussy around his girth, he knew he'd succeeded. But he wasn't done yet.

When Michonne's orgasm subsided, Rick kept moving within her, slower and softer. His hand didn't stop its assault on her now, extra sensitive clit though. It was so swollen and hard he could practically jack her off. She almost asked him to stop because she felt like she couldn't take another minute of the intense stimulation he was giving her, but that feeling went from 'barely tolerable' to 'if you stop now I'll kill you' in seconds.

He raised himself and her hips up just a little (never stopping his slow and torturous fuck) and let her engorged clit slip between his middle and ring fingers. With a quick and constant back and forth motion of his hand, and with the tip of Michonne's clit barely rubbing the bed beneath her, he fucked her slowly and massaged her clit fast.

Eventually, Michonne couldn't take all of the stimulation dissonance she was experiencing in this fiercely passionate fucking they were achieving. As much as she liked the term 'making love', she was getting fucked right now and the only thing she could do was widen her legs as much as she could while still balancing herself on her knees to take what Rick was giving her. She was still so close to the bed that her clit was tickled by the bed sheet every now and then, but she didn't let that stop her as she fucked Rick back, trying to give him as good as he was giving. The slower, softer sex session was officially over. It didn't take much for Michonne to come undone as Rick reached that part inside of her that only he could. She came hard, again, squirting her warm cum all over him.

"Fuck Rick! Fuck," she yelled, again not caring if their neighbors heard her or not.

Rick raised himself up on his knees, bringing Michonne with him as he slammed into her pussy from behind, going as deep as her body would allow. Soon, he felt his balls begin to tighten and prepared to give her all he had. He quickly pulled out of her warmth.

"On your back Michonne, hurry!"

She quickly flipped over and spread herself open for him, and Rick slid back in as if he'd never left. He fucked her hard and urgently, with his hands in her hair, and his face hovering inches above hers as his eyes roamed all over her sweaty, flushed, and beautiful face.

"I'm not going anywhere baby," Michonne said to him, sensing that he needed to hear that. "I promise."

Rick came so hard he thought he may pass out, but he didn't want to take his eyes off of Michonne. Not now, not ever.

Rick collapsed on top of Michonne, burying his face in her hair. He felt as if he'd drained every bit of fluid he had out of his body and into hers. His breath was coming hard and he could feel his heart beating against her chest. She rubbed his back and ran his other hand through his hair.

"Don't leave me Michonne," he whispered so low that Michonne almost didn't hear him.

She kissed the part of his face that she could get to as he was still breathing in her hair.

"I love you Rick. You're stuck with me," she said as she continued to rub his hair.

* * *

Soon enough, they were both dozing off, so Rick moved to her side and gathered her in his arms as if he was afraid she would try to sneak away in his sleep. He knew she wouldn't do that to him, but he still felt the need to be as close to her as he possibly could. Michonne allowed it, feeling exactly the same way.

Two hours later, they were both awakened by Michonne's phone ringing, again. Rick didn't want to let her go, but knew it was crazy. She needed to answer her phone. He was glad when she didn't move too far away from him as she grabbed it.

When Michonne looked at the caller display she was surprised that it was her dad and not Mike. She looked over at Rick, "Ssshhh. This is my Dad," she said and swiped the green phone icon to answer her call.

"Hey Daddy," she said smiling, trying her best not to sound like she just woke up.

She stopped smiling after her dad started talking to her. The look of joy she had, quickly turned to horror.

"Oh my God Daddy! Are you okay?!"

She had tears in her eyes and Rick sat up looking at her worriedly.

"I'm so sorry Daddy. Are you home?..I'll be right there!"

Michonne disconnected the call and jumped from the bed looking for her clothes.

"What happened? What's wrong Michonne?" Rick asked.

"My dad. He fell and broke his wrist this morning. He called me earlier, but I didn't call him back. He was in the hospital! Oh God."

Rick got up to help Michonne because she was all over the place and still hadn't found her clothes.

"Sit down sweetheart."

Michonne started to protest.

"No, sit down, I'll get your clothes for you," Rick said as he sat her on the bed.

"He had to take a cab home," Michonne said miserably. "I didn't call him back."

Rick found her clothes and actually helped her put them on. He tried to calm her down as he did.

"If he's home, that means it wasn't so bad that he needed surgery. Just an x-ray and a cast. Listen, I need you to calm down before you go okay. You need to get to him in one piece, right?" he said gently.

Michonne nodded her head and tried to make herself breathe easier. "Right."

"Everything will be okay. He's probably okay, he just needs some TLC. You can't give it to him if you're panicked, right?"

"Right," Michonne answered and made a real effort to calm down. Rick was on his knees in front of her, putting on her shoes.

"How did he sound on the phone?" Rick asked, wanting her to concentrate on how her father actually was instead of a scenario she was probably making up in her mind.

"He...he sounded okay. Like he was just giving me a weather update instead of telling me he'd actually broken his wrist," Michonne said as she chuckled softly.

"That's good," Rick said as he went to retrieve her purse.

He stood Michonne up and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer him, she just grabbed him and hugged him.

"Thank you Rick." she said into his neck.

"There's no need to thank me sweetheart," he whispered to her. "You'll feel better when you get to him and can see for yourself how he's doing," Rick said as he hugged her back.

Rick let her go and started to put his own clothes on. He found the card key to the room, put it in his pocket and walked Michonne to the door. Michonne realized that he was gonna walk her out and for some strange reason, that touched her even more than him dressing her.

"I love you," Michonne said as they walked out the door.

"I love you too. If you need me, call me. I don't care what time it is, or what is happening. If you need me to be there for you I will, and damn everything else, understand?" Rick said as they made their way to the elevator.

"Thanks Rick. I promise, if I need you I won't hesitate to call you," Michonne said.

"Call me anyway whenever you get the chance to let me know how your dad's doing. Just, whenever you get the chance," he said, feeling anxious, not wanting to let her go yet.

"I will."

The elevator didn't take long to get to their floor and when the doors opened, it was occupied by four other people. Rick led Michonne in first, with his hand on the small of her back, and got on after her. The lobby button was already pushed so he hugged her to him and felt a strange relief when he felt her arms encircle his waist.

"You sure you're gonna be okay? I know it might not be the best idea, but I can go with you," Rick offered.

"No, that's okay. I'll be alright," Michonne said as she hugged him tighter. "Soon though. I can't wait for you to meet him," she said looking up into Rick's eyes.

"Me either babe," Rick whispered, as he lay a single kiss softly onto her lips. They'd forgotten anyone else was even in the elevator.

They were both silent and continued to cling to each other as the elevator made its descent. When the doors opened and Rick and Michonne walked through throngs of people in the crowded lobby, Rick was even more determined that he wouldn't lose this woman. He felt a hundred feet tall when he walked with her in his arms, and at the same time, envied the fuck out of Mike that he could feel like this without having to sneak around to do it. Soon though. She'd told him that she loved him, more than any other. They would be able to be together out in the open and happy, soon.

As they got to the parking lot and walked toward her car, Michonne hit the fob to unlock the door and Rick opened the door for her. When she was seated, Rick hunkered down so that he was close to her as she sat inside the car with the door open.

"You okay?" he asked wanting to make sure she was still calm and able to drive without incident.

"Yes, I'm fine," Michonne said as she reached for his hair and ran her fingers through it.

Rick grabbed her hand and kissed her palm, knowing that if she kept running her hand through his hair, he'd start purring.

"Be careful. Don't forget to call me when you get there so I'll know you got there in one piece."

"I won't forget," Michonne assured him.

Rick stood up and moved out of the way so that he could close Michonne's car door. When she started it up, she rolled the window down. She stuck her face out of the window and pursed her lips. Rick bent down and gave her the kiss she'd asked for, stepped back, and she pulled out. She gave him a final wave as she drove out of the parking lot. He watched until he couldn't see her anymore.

* * *

He turned to go back into the hotel and ran smack into his best friend since middle school.

"Daryl, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question man. What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Daryl Dixon asked his friend with a smirk.

He knew exactly what Rick was doing there as he'd seen him walking out of the elevator with a woman that _wasn't_ his wife in his arms, but, thought he'd make him squirm a little.

Daryl had lived in Atlanta for the past 10 years and had been trying for years to get his best friend to move too. He finally got his wish 6 months ago when Rick told him about his promotion and the relocation that came with it.

"Who's with you?" Rick asked, as his head went back and forth looking for anyone else familiar.

"Relax man, it's just me. You gon' tell me something or you gonna make me beg for it?"

"Come on up," Rick said and started for the hotel entrance...again.

"Where's Jesus?" Rick asked Daryl when they got in the lobby.

"At home," Daryl said giving his friend a little push.

Daryl hated the nickname his boyfriend had acquired and Rick knew it, but it did kind of suit him. Hell, Paul **looked** like Jesus. And if Daryl was _really_ honest with himself, that name made sex a hoot.

Daryl waited patiently as they went up on the elevator as Rick had yet to explain himself. When they got off and walked down the hall, Daryl didn't say a word as Rick opened the door to his hotel room. His very messy hotel room. Daryl went to the bed and grabbed the bed cover off the floor and threw it over the bed so that he could sit down. He stopped when he saw a small golden clip that looked like a thick open ring.

"What's this?" Daryl asked as he held the object he'd plucked from the bed covers up so that Rick could see it.

Rick snatched it out of his hand. "It's one of her hair clips," he said as he put it in his pocket.

"You gonna tell me who ' _her'_ is?" Daryl asked.

Rick sat at the table next to the window and rubbed his hand over his face.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Jesus," Rick said knowing he couldn't avoid telling Daryl who Michonne was. Not now.

"I promise," Daryl said, meaning it.

Rick told Daryl everything. From the moment they first laid eyes on each other, up til just now when he watched her drive away.

"I love her Daryl."

"Holy shit. What are you gon' do?"

"I can't do anything. Not until she's ready. Besides, I need the time to figure out how I'm gonna explain this to my son."

"Your son, not your wife?" Daryl asked.

"I already know what I'm gonna say to Lori," Rick said as a matter of fact.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Daryl asked.

"I'll tell her exactly what I just told you. I love her."

Daryl couldn't believe it. He couldn't remember Rick ever being with anyone besides Lori and now he was proclaiming his love for a woman he'd just met. Honestly though, Daryl never liked Lori. Even when they were all in high school, she always came off as disingenuous to him. He could never put his finger on it, but he always thought there was something decidedly false about Lori. But then, his best friend went and married her so he put his own feelings about her on the back burner and pretended to be happy for his friend. When he thought about it, he guessed he was just as duplicitous as she was when it came to that. He told himself he was doing it for Rick. The last thing a guy wanted to hear on their wedding day was that his future wife was a fake mean bitch.

When she'd outed Daryl as gay in a fucking slam book in high school, before he was ready to do it himself, he'd wanted to tell Rick what type of person she was then. When he confronted Lori she denied it, but he knew it was her. It was her handwriting and it was exactly the type of thing that sneaky bitch would do to break up his and Rick's friendship. It turned out okay even though that was a fucked up thing to do to him. Rick still loved him, and his brother Merle said he'd known Daryl was gay since he was a child. Fortunately Daryl's father was already dead and rotting in the ground when his world was turned upside down by that bitch. Or, when his world was turned right side up as Paul would say.

"Well, you're secret's safe with me. You know that. My question is, are _**you**_ gonna be able to keep _**your**_ mouth shut?" Daryl asked, trying not to laugh at his poor friend.

"I don't have a choice. It's what she wants," Rick said, not realizing that by telling Daryl he'd already proven that he kind of _couldn't_ keep his mouth shut.. He was about to say more, but his phone rang.

He snatched it up and when he saw the name Gill on the display, he smiled and answered it.

"Hey baby. Are you okay?...No, no, it's okay. It's okay. He's okay sweetheart," Rick said on the phone as he touched the flowers he'd gotten her. "Baby don't cry," Rick whispered.

Daryl couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but when he'd looked at his friend's face, he knew Rick was in love. He shook his head and chuckled softly. "Poor bastard," Daryl whispered.

"Just stay there with him and take care of him...I know," Rick said gently.

Daryl was amazed at the tenderness Rick was expressing toward this woman. It reminded him of how he treated Paul, and he suddenly felt like calling him.

"I know you feel guilty baby, but try not to okay. You weren't _not_ there for him on purpose," Rick said softly, hoping he was succeeding at least a little bit in his attempt to make her feel better.

Rick listened to more of what Michonne was saying to him.

"Okay, go on ahead then. If you need me though, I want you to call me again. I don't care what time it is Michonne, I'll be there, okay?... Okay...I love you. Go splash your face with some cold water before you go back to him… I know you do baby, but it's gonna be alright. You believe me?...good... bye sweetheart."

Rick reluctantly disconnected the call. Michonne was crying and he wasn't able to be there for her. He turned around and found his friend staring at him gobsmacked.

"What?"

"When you told me that you loved her, I kind of thought maybe this was just a passing thing. I can see clearly that it ain't. Dude, you are _so_ fucked," Daryl said, but this time, he laughed out loud.

"Yeah, but I don't _feel_ fucked. She's upset right now and it's killing me that I can't go to her, but under that, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life Daryl," Rick said as he looked at the phone.

"What's wrong with her?" Daryl asked his obviously worried friend.

"Shit. Her dad broke his wrist after a fall this morning while Michonne was here with me. He called her, but she missed the call, and then she didn't call him back. He was in the hospital for a few hours getting his arm put in a cast. He's alright, but when Michonne didn't call back, he had to take a cab home from the hospital and she's wracked with guilt," Rick said sitting on the bed next to his friend.

"You think she's gonna be a little mad at you, seeing as how she was with you when everything happened?"

Daryl didn't know Michonne, but considering the type of woman Rick had been with almost his entire life, it wasn't hard to assume that he _may_ have picked the exact same woman as his wife. The kind of woman he was used to. Daryl hoped to God Rick hadn't. He wanted so badly for his friend to finally be happy. It was amazing to Daryl that _he_ could see how Rick wasn't ever really happy with Lori. Even back in school. She was just Rick's first time, and he'd attached himself to her thinking that he loved her. Daryl guessed eventually Rick did end up loving Lori in some way. She'd given him his children after all. But she was slowly chipping away at his friend. Looking at him now, he thought he saw something different in Rick's eyes and Daryl was hopeful.

"What?" Rick said looking at Daryl. "No. She's blaming _herself_ for not being there when he needed her. She said she'd call me later on after he went to bed. She's gonna stay there with him tonight and kind of look after him."

"All he did was break his wrist?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, but he's over 70 years old, and there's not much he can do for himself with one hand. So... what are _you_ doing here?" Rick asked wanting to get off the subject for a little while.

"Oh, I was dropping off more day trip passes with the concie...concere...the guy at the front desk," Daryl said.

Daryl owned a touring company that provided day trips throughout the city of Atlanta, which had become a hot ticket over the years. Hell, they made bank with the Adult Swim offices and Tyler Perry Studios tours alone. Plus, with all the reality shows as well as the scripted shows being filmed around town, Daryl's business had expanded to the point where he was almost a corporation.

"Don't you have people that can do that for you now?" Rick asked, shaking his head at his friend.

"Well yeah, but I was out and passing the hotel anyway. It's a good thing too or you wouldn't have had anyone to unload all of your 'new business' on," Daryl said laughing.

"Yeah," Rick said looking at his friend. "You're gonna tell Jesus aren't you?"

"You asked me not to, so I won't, even though you know I hate keeping secrets from him," Daryl said.

"Just promise me that the two of you will only discuss this amongst yourselves. No one else."

Rick knew that when he'd told Daryl, he'd pretty much told Jesus as well. Besides, he didn't want to be responsible for Daryl having to lie to him.

"You have my word," Daryl said relieved.

He wouldn't have told Jesus, but just the thought of keeping anything from him made Daryl uneasy and besides, Jesus would have seen right through his facade anyway.

Daryl sat beside his friend and watched as he looked around the room. He couldn't say for sure, but Daryl could guess that Rick was forlornly looking for any sign of Michonne.

"Come on. Get your shit and let's get out of here," Daryl said clapping his love sick friend on the back.

Rick came back to the present, smiled and started gathering his things. It didn't take long since he and Michonne hadn't spent the night. He didn't have to worry about toothbrushes, or changes of clothes or anything like that.

"You want to come home with me? Paul and I can pet you up, make you feel better."

"No. I need to go into the office," Rick said. He wanted to talk to the commissioner about possibly reassigning this new duty of his to someone else.

"Is Lori home?"

"No, she took Carl and Judith back to Cedartown for the day. He was missing his friends," Rick said thinking fondly of his son.

He grimaced when he thought about what Carl would think of him when everything came to light.

"Everything is going to be fine Rick," Daryl said.

He always had a sixth sense when it came to his friend. Either that, or they were just really really close. Daryl humored himself and said it was both.

"How can you say that?" Rick asked, genuinely curious.

"Have you made up your mind that Michonne is the one you want?"

"Yes," Rick said without hesitation.

"Then this is your path. No matter how it turns out." Daryl said.

Rick just looked at his friend. Since he and Jesus had been together, Daryl was definitely happier, but their 'Zen philosophies' were nothing short of annoying. Rick just figured it was a combination of too many books about The Buddha and the copious amounts of weed they grew in their backyard.

But, when he thought about it, Daryl kind of had a point. Michonne was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Of that he had no doubt. He was positive that his son would absolutely hate his guts for it, but Carl loved him. Ultimately, he _knew_ his son loved him and he loved Carl. If it took his last breath, he'd make this up to his boy, somehow.

Rick and Daryl parted ways in the parking lot, but Daryl ran back over to him.

"Listen, if Lori isn't gonna be home for dinner, come over. And before you say anything, Paul will be cooking, not me. He's banned me from the stove," Daryl pouted.

"Thank God, and I'm sure Jesus' poor stomach lining thanks Him too," Rick said teasing his friend.

"Whatever dude. Just come on over if you can. I'll tell Paul to expect you just in case."

Rick was touched by his friend's kindness. He didn't know what he expected. Well, that's not quite true. He did know what he expected. He expected to be judged and cast aside. He _was_ a major asshole after all.

"Thanks man. I'll call her to see if they'll be home for dinner and I'll let you know," Rick said.

As Rick drove toward police headquarters, he'd made up his mind that he was not going to ask for a reassignment. He could handle this. Besides, he really wanted to meet the man that the woman he loved was married to.

As he walked into the building, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, hoping it was Michonne, but it wasn't. It was Lori. He took a deep breath and connected the call.

"Hey," he said, as he walked through the hall towards his office.

"Hey. Are you still at work?" Lori asked him.

"Yeah. I'm just walking back to my office now. You guys having fun?" Rick asked.

"Carl is in seventh heaven. I don't think he realized just how much he missed his friends."

"Well, we should invite them down here to spend some weekends with Carl and let him go there a little more often maybe," Rick said.

"That's a good idea. Where are you walking back to your office from?"

"What?" Rick asked.

"I said, where are you walking back to your office from?" Lori asked again.

Rick heard her the first time, but had no clue on what he was going to tell her and needed a second or two to think of something. Just saying 'the bathroom' never occurred to him.

"Daryl came to see me and I walked him out to his car. Listen, do you think you guys will be home for dinner, cause if you're not, Daryl and Paul invited me to have dinner with them."

"Well, Carl wanted to stay a little longer at Josh's house and of course Sarah will feed him, but I told him that we probably needed to get home," Lori said.

"Don't rush back on my account. If he wants to stay and if you don't mind, go ahead and let him. I'll just head over to Daryl's," Rick said.

"Boy, you just can't wait to get over there can you?" Lori asked him. There was no mirth in her voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rick asked.

"Nothing Rick. You go over to your _friend's_ house and we'll be home later on tonight," Lori snapped.

Rick looked at his phone like it had grown a head and pressed it back to his ear.

"Since when do you have a problem with me spending time with Daryl? Rick asked his obviously upset wife.

"Since I've been calling your office for over an hour and now I find out that you were with _**him**_." She said the word 'him' like it was a disease.

"Are you **fucking** with me right now?" Rick asked a bit loudly since he was now inside his office behind closed doors. "What do you think we were doing Lori?" Rick asked, barely holding back his laughter.

"I don't know _WHAT_ you were doing because I couldn't get in touch with you," she yelled.

"Did you just _now_ remember my fucking cell phone number?!" he yelled back.

When she didn't answer him, he laughed.

"Okay," Rick said, still chuckling. "I'm going to Daryl and Jesus' house for dinner. I'll see you guys when you get home."

"Wait! We'll be home for dinner Rick," Lori said a lot quieter this time.

"Good for you. I'm going to Daryl and Jesus' for dinner. I'll see you guys when you get home," Rick repeated and then disconnected the call.

Even though he was extremely pissed off, he felt oddly...relieved.

He'd known that his best friend and his wife had merely tolerated each other for years. He didn't understand for a long time what went on between them. The three of them were close in the beginning of their high school years, but suddenly out of nowhere, Daryl and Lori stopped talking like they used too. If Daryl and he were hanging out, Lori suddenly started finding things to do and vice versa. He never said anything because the animosity never seemed too severe. It was just as if they'd outgrown each other or something.

Rick called Daryl's house. Jesus answered.

"Hey Rick. You coming for dinner?"

"Yeah, what time should I be there?" Rick asked unaware that he was still using the voice he'd used earlier with Lori. It was understandable as he was still pissed.

"You can come anytime, I'm cooking now. You okay?" Jesus asked concerned.

"No, I'm not," Rick sighed, deciding to tell the truth. Something he noted he hadn't been doing too much of in the past day and a half. "Is Daryl there?"

"He just left again to get your Guinness. Come on over and tell us all about it," Jesus said.

Rick bristled at first, but he realized that Jesus was being sincere.

"I'm on my way." Rick said.

"See you soon."

Rick disconnected the call and was about to leave when the commissioner's receptionist, Ms. Noonan entered his office.

"Oh, Deputy. I didn't know you were here," she said as she came on in. "I was dropping this off in your office," she said, handing him a memo. "I also sent you an email. The Commissioner is organizing a black tie dinner to celebrate the coming erection of the new community center."

The man/child inside Rick wanted to laugh at Ms. Noonan's use of the word erection, but he just didn't have it in him right then. He read over the memo she thought she needed to hand deliver to his office on a day that Rick wasn't even supposed to be there.

"Thanks Ms. Noonan," Rick said smiling and dismissing her at the same time as he read over the paper in his hand.

He wasn't really reading, just skimming as he didn't want to engage her in conversation at the moment.

He heard the door close, but his eye had caught something and now he couldn't take his eyes _off_ of the memo.

Blah blah blah blah blah...

 _ **Honored Guests include:**_

Blah blah blah blah blah...

 _ **Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Michonne Gill**_

Blah blah blah blah blah…

 _ **Deputy Commissioner and Mrs. Richard and Lori Grimes**_

Blah blah blah blah blah...

Blah blah blah blah blah...

The function was scheduled for one month from the current day.

"Shit."

Rick tried to think about how he could possibly keep he and Michonne a secret if was going to be forced to watch her and Mike together at a fucking black tie dinner. He left his office. He desperately needed to talk to Daryl and Jesus.

He was in trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

Love Without Tragedy

Chapter 4

Rick fell into the huge comfortable suede couch in Daryl and Jesus' living room. That wasn't the only comfortable thing in there. They had huge pillows on the floor to sit on in case a person didn't want to sit on the couch for some reason. The walls were colored a very mellow and relaxing blue, as was the thick carpet Rick was currently squeezing his toes in since Jesus made him take his boots off as soon as he walked into their house. He didn't realize how tired he was as he closed his eyes and waited until he almost fell asleep thinking. _What the fuck was he gonna do now_ , he thought to himself. He didn't want to attend a black tie dinner where he would have to watch Mike and Michonne together, and he certainly didn't want Michonne to have to see him and Lori. He desperately wanted, no needed, to talk to Michonne. Not just to let her know what was coming, but he wanted to make sure she was alright. She was crying when he last talked to her and it killed him that he couldn't go to her. He needed to try and make her feel better. He started to pull his phone out of his pocket when a low and rumbling chuckle disrupted his thoughts.

He looked over at the other end of the couch and saw Jesus sitting on the couch with Daryl sitting on the floor between his knees. Daryl had Rick's memo in his hand reading it and Jesus was reading it over his shoulder.

"I can't see how this is even remotely funny," Rick said indignantly.

"Well, that's because it's happenin' to you. But, believe me, this shit is funny as hell," Daryl assured him.

Jesus bumped his man lightly on the shoulder. "Daryl, don't laugh at him. Can't you see he's distraught over there?" Jesus asked, trying his best not to laugh himself.

"Excuse me, but didn't you tell me that if I came over that you and Jesus would pet me up and make me feel better? I don't feel better," Rick said.

"I'm sorry man. I'm just being an asshole. I'm actually kind of happy for you," Daryl told him seriously.

Rick looked at his friend with a puzzled face. "Really?"

"Rick, we've been friends since we were kids. I think we both gravitated to each other because of the lives we were forced to live at home. We recognized ourselves in each other. Two abused boys that were basically alone, trying to make ourselves small so no one would notice us because that's what we had to do at home. The only difference between us was that most of the time, not all of the time, but most of the time, I had Merle. When Merle was home, he took the brunt of our father and when Merle got bigger and meaner, he even gave a little back to him. You didn't have that and I always felt bad about it."

Jesus rubbed Daryl's shoulders to help him get through his declarations. He knew Daryl hated talking about his childhood, even with someone who was there and witnessed some of the worst of it as Rick had.

"When we first met, I thought you were the saddest person I'd ever seen," Daryl continued.

It was strange for Jesus to hear Daryl say this because he'd thought that exact same thing about _Daryl_ when _they_ first met.

"After all these years I can honestly say Rick, and I'm sorry for this, I've never seen you happy like you are right now."

Rick was startled to hear his friend say aloud what he'd been thinking for the last forty-eight hours. He opened his mouth to say...something, but there was nothing there. So he closed his mouth and listened.

"I'm not including when Carl and Judith were born. You were definitely happy _those times_. But, even with you all stressed out about you and Michonne, and how y'all are gonna handle all of the shit that's gonna hit the fan when you decide to let everyone know that you love each other; and even with you being so upset about the situation with her dad and how can't be there for her, I can see something different in you. I can still see your happiness trying to break through despite these shitty circumstances," Daryl said looking at his friend in wonder.

"I love her Daryl," Rick said softly.

"I know. I could tell when you were talking to her on the phone when we were in your hotel room today. I can actually _see_ it this time and it makes me so happy for you man. I… I've never seen that in you with Lori. Never," Daryl said.

Jesus felt Daryl's shoulders tense as he waited for Rick's reaction, so he just kept up with the shoulder rub, trying to help his man relax.

"I don't think I've ever been happy with Lori," Rick said slowly, almost as if he was tasting the words as he spoke them. "I feel like a piece of shit even saying that out loud, but I feel like I've wasted seventeen years of my life. And hers. We have our children and I love them, but they have been my only source of happiness for as long as I can remember. Them and you guys," Rick said looking at his friends. "I learned to love Lori, mostly because she gave me Carl, but that's it and it's not enough."

"I know," Daryl said.

"I _am_ a piece of shit," Rick said miserably, thinking of his kids.

"Don't say that Rick," Jesus said finally speaking up. "You can't help who you fall in love with," he said.

"No, but you can help how you handle it," Rick said.

"Do you regret meeting Michonne?" Daryl asked.

"Not even a little bit," Rick said immediately.

"Are you having doubts about you and her? About you two being together?"

"No, not about us. My doubts come only in the sense of how this whole thing is goin' to play out for our families. Other than that, no," Rick said.

"How would you feel if she called you right this minute and told you that she changed her mind and she could never see you again?" Jesus asked.

"Oh God. I wouldn't be able to handle that Jesus. I couldn't. I **cannot** be without her," Rick whispered.

"Then, whatever semblance of doubt you have, let it go," Jesus said simply.

"Just let it go man. That small grain of doubt will only grow bigger and bigger and destroy what you have with her. You know what you want?"

Rick nodded his head. "Yes."

"And you know _who_ you want. The only thing you need to do is brace yourself for the impact. Just be there for each other. That's the only way you two will get through it still in tact at the other end. And of course, Jesus and I are here for you. For both of you, when you need us," Daryl finished.

Rick could feel the hot sting of unshed tears behind his eyes. "Thanks," he said roughly. "I love you two, you know that?" he asked as he stood up and pulled out his phone. "I'm gonna go give her a call and check on her," Rick said as he headed outside to sit on Daryl and Jesus' porch swing.

As Rick stepped outside to a cooling evening dominated by the setting sun, and before he closed the front door behind him, he heard the words, "And we love you too" come from the living room of his friends house. He didn't know which one said it, but it didn't really matter.

* * *

"You okay?" Jesus asked Daryl once their friend was on the other side of the front door.

Daryl shuddered, but nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm okay," Daryl said as he raised up on his knees and turned to face Jesus. Jesus brushed Daryl's hair back off of his forehead and kissed him softly on the lips.

"You wanna come in the kitchen with me while I finish dinner?"

Daryl nodded his head yes and they both stood. Before Jesus could walk away, Daryl grabbed him and hugged him tightly around his waist. Almost as if he thought Jesus would disappear if he wasn't holding on to him. Jesus didn't say anything, but he hugged Daryl back just as tight. Daryl was always like this after he talked about his childhood. It upset him so bad and Jesus wished Daryl's father was still alive so he could go and put his foot in his ass for hurting him.

"Come on baby," Jesus said, still hugging Daryl around his neck. He heard Daryl mumble "okay" into his neck and then they both headed into the kitchen, where Daryl could watch Jesus finish cooking, but certainly not help.

* * *

Outside on the porch, Rick was relieved that Michonne seemed to be doing better than the last time he'd spoken with her. He'd waited as long as he could to call her once he'd gotten to Daryl's house and it was now eight o'clock.

"I'm glad he's okay Michonne and everything is alright. You're alright aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm okay. I'm glad you called," Michonne said.

"Me too. I miss you." Rick said as he started the porch swing rocking slowly back and forth.

"I miss you too Rick," she said. "Are we ridiculous?" she asked laughing softly so as not to disturb her father who was currently dozing off in his La-Z Boy in front of the TV.

"Not in the least little bit," he replied as her laughter brought a huge smile to his face.

"Is your family home?" she asked.

"No, but I'm at my friends house right now. I want you to meet them," Rick said and instantly became nervous. He didn't want to push her to fast.

"Really? I mean, I'd love to, but is it a good idea?" she asked. She was thinking about how badly she wanted Rick to meet her father.

"Yes. This is a safe place for us." Rick winced after he said that, but let it go. They'd decided they weren't going to tell their spouses yet and if they wanted to see each other, they _needed_ a safe place.

"Do you think you'd be up to meeting them?" Rick asked hopefully.

"Of course Rick. When?"

"Soon baby, very soon. Listen, I need to talk to you about something."

Michonne got nervous all of a sudden. She knew Rick wasn't about to tell her that he didn't want to see her again, but they were still very new and their "relationship" was seemingly up in the air.

"Do you want to come over?" she asked timidly.

"Really? Yes, I want to. Is that gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. My daddy is dozing off now. He'll be asleep for the night in about an hour."

"Okay sweetheart. Text me the address and I'll wait a couple of hours before I come."

"Can you tell me what you want to talk to me about?"

"Something has come up at work," he hedged, then sighed. "We need to talk about it. It'll be okay, but it does warrant a conversation. Okay?"

"Okay," Michonne complied. "I'll go ahead and text you the address and I'll give you a call when Daddy is down for the night."

"Alright baby. I love you."

"I love you too Rick," Michonne said before she hung up the phone.

* * *

"Rick," Jesus said from the front door. Rick didn't even hear it open. "Dinner's ready."

"Thanks. I'll be in in a second," Rick said staring at his phone. He wasn't moving until he got the text from Michonne.

Jesus went back into the house and Rick came in after a minute.

"She okay?" Daryl asked his friend.

"Yeah, she's fine. I'm going over to her dad's house a little later. I want to tell her about the black tie dinner so she won't be surprised when _he_ tells her about it." Rick didn't even want to think about _him_ but he knew he'd have to get his ass off of his shoulders sooner or later. Michonne was Mike's wife, no matter how much thinking about that made the acid in his stomach churn.

"Are you okay?" Daryl asked as he watched his friends face go dark.

"Yeah. I'm just starving and I'm excited that I can actually enjoy this meal since you had absolutely nothing to do with the preparation," Rick said, trying to make a joke to distract his perceptive friend.

"Just sit your skinny ass down and eat," Daryl said.

"Boys," Jesus said patiently, smiling slightly. They both seemed to be in better moods.

Daryl and Rick both sat down, elbowing each other under the table so that Jesus couldn't see them. Of course he could, but he let it go. It was the nature of their relationship. It was almost as if Daryl and Rick tried to relive or _redo_ their childhood whenever they were together. Anything to pale the memories of the shitty one they actually had to endure.

After an hour and a half of pleasant ribbing from Daryl and giving it right back to him, Rick got the call he was waiting for. Michonne told him to come over.

"Guys, thanks for dinner. This may soon be a permanent situation," Rick said joking, but...not really.

"Your room is always ready, you know that," Jesus said smiling.

"Thanks," Rick said quietly giving his friends hugs. "I'll see you guys later."

* * *

He didn't speed, but he did hurry. He couldn't wait to see her. The GPS wasn't talking fast enough and he could feel himself getting pissed off at it.

"Calm down Rick," he told himself. "You'll get there when you get there."

When he heard the words, "Your destination is on the left," his heart started beating a little faster. He pulled his car up two houses past Michonne's father's house, just in case and called her to let her know he was there.

"I saw your car pass the house. Come on in. I'm unlocking the door so you don't have to knock."

"I'll be right there," Rick said and swiped the red button to disconnect the call. The neighborhood was dark and quiet and it was only 9:30 p.m. Michonne told him that a lot of older people lived in the neighborhood.

He opened the door quietly and was greeted with darkness. He squinted his eyes as he closed the door, and there she was. She was glorious to him, even with just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on. He walked over to her and took her into his arms, hugging her tight and whispering in her ear.

"Hey sweetheart." He tipped her head back so that he could peer into her brown eyes. Brown eyes that were still slightly red from crying earlier. He kissed her lips and felt like a fucking King when she kissed him back. She placed her hands on his cheek and lightly scratched at his scruffy beard. Rick didn't want to stop kissing Michonne, but he did have something to tell her, so he pulled back slightly, moved back in to give her one more kiss and stopped. "How's your dad?"

"He's okay. He went to bed about an hour ago and I checked on him a few minutes before you got here. He's sound asleep now. He had to take a pain pill," she said, her voice cracking a little, "but it helped him sleep."

Rick led her over to the couch and sat down pulling Michonne into his lap. He tucked her head into the crook of his neck and rubbed her back. "It's okay. He's okay baby. I'm so sorry I couldn't be here for you earlier today," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead.

"You're here now," Michonne said breathing a sigh of relief. She wrapped her arms around Rick a little tighter. "What did you have to talk to me about?" she asked needing to get this part of the night over with.

Rick reached into his pants pocket without letting her go and gave her the memo from work.

"Let's go into the kitchen," she said as she pulled herself from Rick's lap. She didn't want to move, but Rick was clearly upset about whatever was going on at his job and it was too dark to read whatever Rick had just given her. She grabbed his hand and helped him up so that he could follow her.

When they got into the kitchen, Michonne turned on the light and offered Rick a seat at her father's breakfast table.

"You want something to drink?"

"No, I'm okay," he said, not able to take his eyes off of her in the light. 'God, she's beautiful' he said to himself. Michonne sat next to Rick and read the memo he presented to her.

"Shit," she whispered. She looked up at Rick and could see the distress in his eyes.

"What are we gonna do, Michonne?" he asked quietly so as not to wake her father. "I do not want to have to play nice in front of a bunch of people while having to watch you with him. Plus, I don't want you to have to watch me with her. I am not going to be able to get through that."

Michonne stood up and sat herself in Rick's lap. She liked it there. He immediately started rubbing her back as she rubbed the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his curls. "We'll be okay," she said looking him in his eyes. "It'll be hard, but it'll be alright. I love you and if that means I have to spend a night...watching you and your wife together, then that's what I'm gonna do. Do you think that you…?"

"Yes!" he whispered harshly, feeling a bit weak because she was being so strong. "I can do it. For you, I can. God knows I don't want to, but I will. I love you too."

Michonne kissed Rick this time, grinding her ass into his lap. Wasn't enough. She turned herself around so that she was facing him, straddling him and giving him better access to her middle. He moaned into her mouth as they kissed and while squeezing her hips as she trapped his hard-on with her body.

"You wanna go to my room?" she asked him softly.

Rick trapped her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it as he nodded his head. Hell yeah he wanted to go to her room. Wait.

"You have a room at your dad's house?" he asked smiling at her.

"It's my old room. My Dad never changed it after I moved out in case I ever decided to come back home for whatever reason," she said quietly, not wanting to get into her dad's reasons too much. But Rick, ever the cop, could tell that she was keeping something from him.

"Michonne?" he said looking at her face.

"You know how parents are. They never want to let their children go no matter what their age," she said trying to laugh his concern off.

She was still holding something back, but he didn't want to push her. No, that wasn't true. He absolutely wanted to push her, but he wouldn't. She wasn't a perp, or a suspect so he just told her…

"If you need me for anything or feel like you need to tell me anything - anything Michonne - you know you can right? I don't care if you need to tell me you have a massive foot fungus," he said and she laughed out loud slapping a hand over her mouth, making him smile at her, "you can tell me."

She took her hand from her mouth and placed it on his face. She kissed him sweetly. "I know," she said.

Michonne got up and again, grabbed Rick's hand so that he could follow her through the house. They passed her father's room, where they both looked in on him from his door. Michonne noticed Rick looking over her father with real concern and it made her smile. Her father was sound asleep. Michonne closed his door quietly and she and Rick continued down the hall to her room.

When they got to her room, Rick wanted to look around a bit instead of throwing her on the bed immediately, to his utter surprise. Michonne turned on the light and the first thing he noticed was her bookshelf that covered an entire wall. It was stuffed with so many books, the shelves were sagging. He walked over to read the titles and saw books written by Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, Leo Tolstoy, Stephen King, Octavia Butler, Tolkien, Koontz, Neil Gaiman, Lee Child, Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, Harper Lee, George Orwell, James Baldwin, Fitzgerald, Fran Lebowitz...there were so many different authors and genres that he was amazed. The one thing he was surprisingly grateful for was that he didn't spot **one** book by Stephenie Meyer. The bottom shelf was nothing but National Geographic magazines. There was a small desk in the corner next to her closet and the stacks of papers were perilously close to tumbling down onto the floor so he didn't touch them.

He looked back at her and found that she was watching him as he was 'discovering' her. "Can I read something that you have written?" he asked her as he was bending over her desk looking at what was a mess to him, but surely not to her.

When he looked back at her again, she was beaming. "You really want to read something of mine?" she asked him genuinely surprised. Michonne's dad was the only other person that had actually asked to read anything she'd written. Mike had asked once, but he never read what she gave him. He was a busy guy, but it still hurt a little.

"Of course. I'd love to read your work sweetheart," he said to her. She was surprised that he'd asked and he was suddenly pissed again. He couldn't figure out why he was so mad, but he decided to let it go. He didn't want to ruin his time with her with an attitude.

"Okay," she said excitedly. "When?"

"When we go on our little vacation at The Cottage, so you'll have to keep your hands to yourself while I read. Do you think you'll be able to do that?" he asked her as he walked toward her.

"I don't know if I'll be able to resist, but I'll do my best," she said as she went into his open arms.

She was smiling again and that made Rick happy. She was so upset today after what happened with her father and he just wanted to make her happy. He held her tightly in his arms and kissed her neck softly. She ran her hand down his side to his hip and dipped to his front. He was hard again and she rubbed his cock through his jeans, letting him know what she wanted.

He walked her back towards the full sized bed that also had a hanging bookshelf over the head. He secretly hoped they wouldn't get pummeled with falling books later. Michonne lay on the bed and Rick unfastened her jeans and pulled them off. He left her little lace panties alone for now and helped her pull off her t-shirt. He then pulled off his own shirt and threw it aside. Michonne opened her arms and he went to her without hesitation. He loved kissing her. It was like drinking fresh water to him. He couldn't get enough. As they kissed, Michonne went after his pants. She wanted them gone. He helped her and removed the offending garment along with his underwear. He went after her panties as if they'd vexed him somehow, tearing them in the process of removal. She laughed.

"That's two pair of panties you owe me mister. Pretty soon, I won't have any left," she whispered.

"I can't find one thing wrong with that statement," Rick said as he moved down her body.

He opened her legs and settled himself between them, using his fingers to open her up, finding her glistening and wet for him. He licked at her gently, totally aware of the fact that they had been making love practically all day today, and he didn't want to hurt her if she was sore. When she started moving her hips, trying to get her pussy closer to his mouth, he figured she was just fine and started sucking at her clit like it was a piece of sticky sweet candy. She moaned in satisfaction.

"Baby, you have to be quiet. You don't want to wake your dad," he said trying not to laugh as she grabbed a pillow and shoved it into her face. He went back to his 'meal' and he could hear her muffled moans through the pillow. Good. He wanted her to feel good. He slid his finger into her tight opening, moving it in and out quickly as he sucked her clit into his mouth. When she was right on the edge, he gave her a little bite and she screamed as she came in his mouth, coating his chin and lips with her cum.

She threw the pillow off and grabbed his shoulders to pull him up. On his way up, he slipped his cock into her as if it was where he belonged. Hell, it _was_ where he belonged. As he moved in and out of Michonne, she grabbed his face and sucked her juices off of his lips and chin. He almost came right then and there. Michonne wrapped her legs around his back, giving him better access to her pussy and they fucked hard and fast.

Michonne started moaning with pleasure. It felt so good to be with Rick. Someone she loved, _truly_ loved, and not just with them because it was what was expected after enduring tragedy together. Someone that _truly_ loved her.

"Are you okay? Are you sore?" he asked, not stopping but prepared to slow down if she was feeling any discomfort.

"I'm okay. Fuck me harder Rick. Harder," she whispered urgently into his ear.

Rick thought they were perfect together. She was so tight and wet, and his size made for the right amount of friction, creating the perfect sensation for the both of them.

"I'm not gonna last much longer baby. You feel so fucking good," he said. He snaked his hand between them and gave her clit a swipe. When he did that, her pussy tightened around him. He didn't think it was possible for her to be any tighter, but here he was, in a slippery vice grip. He swiped at her clit again, but this time, he didn't stop. He was gonna come, but he was determined to make her come first. It was working. She was so close that she was soon biting into his shoulder to keep from crying out and he relished the pain. It was a slight distraction from his pending climax. Very slight. He pounded into her, grunting with every aggressive entry. He couldn't hold on any longer so he gave her clit a pinch and that took her right over the edge which gave him permission to let go completely. He planted his face in her hair and came so hard he got dizzy.

When they were both finished and breathing hard, he looked at her. "You're beautiful," he said softly and kissed her lips.

She loved it when he told her that, and fortunately for her, he told her that often.

"So are you," she said smiling.

They were in bed, Rick still inside of her, smiling at each other when they heard the knock at the front door.

* * *

Mike hadn't seen Michonne all day long. When he went home, he found the breakfast he'd made her still in the microwave. He tossed it. He called her to tell her it was time for her to come home, but that was when she told him about her father and his little accident today. He didn't like that she'd decided to stay there with her dad, but he knew there was no sense in arguing about it, so he decided not to push. But now, it was after 11 and he missed her. He decided to pay her a visit.

He knocked on the door like he was the police and Michonne quickly pulled on her jeans and t-shirt and ran to the door. She already knew who it was as she threw the door open.

"Mike, my dad is asleep!" she whispered harshly. "You don't have to knock so hard. You're going to wake him."

"Oh, sorry," he said. He wasn't quiet. "Didn't he get some pain pills or something?"

"Yes," she said, still not moving so he could come in.

"Shit, then he probably can't hear anything anyway," Mike said laughing loudly.

Rick was up and pulling his pants on. He went to put on his t-shirt and realized, this wasn't his. This was Michonne's, which could only mean that she had thrown his on by mistake. That was upsetting, but it wasn't on the top of his list. Mike was being loud and belligerent in the living room and Rick was sure he was going to wake up Michonne's dad. He opened Michonne's bedroom door slightly and listened.

"That's not the point Mike. He may be out from the pain pills and he might not be. I'm going to need you to lower your voice."

"I missed you today baby," Mike said as he pushed his way past Michonne and into the house. "I haven't seen you all day. I know you want to spend the night, but let me stick around for a little bit. Your dad will never even know I was here," he said as he grabbed Michonne in a rough embrace.

"Have you been drinking?" Michonne asked him quietly as she pushed away from him.

"Just a little bit," he said as he tried to grab her again. She moved away from him, evading his attempt to pull her into his arms.

"You promised me that you wouldn't drink anymore Mike. You promised me!" she yelled, no longer trying to keep quiet. Also not connecting that she too had broken a promise to her husband. She'd promised to be faithful to him, but this. After the egregious, unspeakable thing that Mike had done the last time he was drunk, she didn't care anymore. She and Mike were officially over.

"Jesus Christ Michonne! It's been four years. Four fucking years since I had a drink. Four years that I've been apologizing. How long are you going to keep punishing me?" Mike yelled back.

By now, Rick had made his way into the hall, standing in front of Michonne's father's room.

"Get out Mike," Michonne said quietly.

"No. I want to be with you Michonne. You abandoned me tonight and now, I want to be with you," he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

She snatched her arm away from him, and looked at him like he was something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe.

"You want to be with me? Are you out of your fucking mind? You come here, drunk, loud and demanding and you think that's gonna make me want to fall into your fucking arms. You're drunk Mike. After what you did, you dare come to me like that! I don't care how many fucking years it's been! You…" She couldn't finish. "Just get out Mike. Please, get out," she whispered. She was suddenly tired. She didn't want to look at Mike anymore. She just wanted him to leave. Mike however, had other plans.

"You told me that you forgave me. You told me that and I believed you. I fucking love you Michonne. I'm sorry about Andre. I'm fucking SORRY! I didn't mean to hurt him."

"Hurt him! Hurt him? You _killed_ my baby, you didn't hurt him. He's dead because of you!" Michonne yelled.

Rick couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He was gonna kill Mike tonight.

"I didn't mean it, and you said you forgave me," Mike said. He grabbed Michonne by the throat. "You said you forgave me. Now, I want you to show me," he whispered, blowing his gin soaked breath into Michonne's face.

Michonne was choking. She couldn't catch her breath. She almost didn't want to. At least this way she could be with her little boy. Black spots were appearing in front of her eyes and she was about to black out when the hand that was around her throat, suddenly wasn't there anymore. She fell to the ground and pulled in the biggest breath she could even though her throat was burning and breathing hurt like hell. When she gathered her senses, she heard muffled popping noises. She looked around and saw Rick beating the shit out of Mike. Mike was trying to fight back, but soon all he could do was try and protect himself.

Rick stood and listened as Michonne and Mike argued, fuming that Mike had hurt her so completely. He wouldn't know how he would ever function again if anything ever happened to Carl or Judith. But suddenly, there was no more yelling in the living room. Mike was whispering and he couldn't hear Michonne at all. Rick hurried to the living room entrance and saw Mike's hand around Michonne's throat. Rick didn't remember running over to them. He didn't remember pulling Mike off of Michonne. He only remember seeing red.

Rick grabbed Mike by his throat and with strength he did not know he had, picked him up and slammed him to the ground. Rick sat on Mike, still squeezing his throat and started repeatedly hitting him in the face. Between punches, Rick gave Mike some sound advice.

"Don't you ever"…(punch)..."put your goddamned hands"…(punch)..."on her again"…(punch)..."or I'll fucking kill you!"...(punch, punch). "She's"…(punch)..."MINE!"...(punch).

He looked down at Mike and decided right then and there that he really _was_ gonna kill him. But then, he heard his name coming from somewhere. It was a very quiet voice, but despite all of the white noise in his head, he could still hear it.

It was Michonne.

"Rick, stop. That's enough," she said. Her voice was hoarse because of the assault she'd just suffered and it made Rick even madder. He gave Mike one last, hard solid punch in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious for good measure.

Rick had to move away from Mike's prone body or else he was gonna beat him to death. He scooted away on his butt and hands and stopped when his back hit the wall. Michonne began to crawl, and Rick knew he'd gone too far. He'd scared Michonne and now she was trying her best to get as far away from him as possible. The only thing was, she was getting closer to him instead of further away. The next thing he knew, he had a lap and arm full of a crying, shaking Michonne. He didn't question it, he just hugged her to him and rocked her.

"Shhh," he whispered as he rubbed her hair and held on to her tightly. "It's okay baby. It's okay."

She turned her face into his neck and continued crying silently.

Rick looked over at Mike who was still out like a light and was glad he had Michonne in his lap. If she wasn't holding him down, literally, Mike would be well on his way towards death. He hugged Michonne tighter and rocked her back and forth.

"Come on baby. I'm going to need you to go check on your father to make sure he is still asleep. I know you don't want him to have to see this," Rick said gently. He wanted her refocused on her father for now and not Mike.

"It's too late," a soft voice came from above them.

Both Rick and Michonne looked up from their position on the floor to see Michonne's father standing in the doorway.

"Looks like there was a bit of trouble," Mr. Gardner said looking over at Mike, then back at his daughter and the man whose arms she was in.


End file.
